December 26, 2024
Why is Stellar (XLM) price up this week?

The Stellar (XLM) token saw a remarkable 11.5% increase in value between September 2 and September 8, which is fresh considering Bitcoin and most altcoins are down for the week. The price surge came after XLM tested support at $0.113, its lowest point in the past eight weeks. The price increase follows an initial announcement by the Stellar Org on social media.

While the announcement was somewhat cryptic, it hinted at some major events coming on September 12th, with phrases like “some cool stuff is dropping” and “changes are coming.”

XLM USD price on Bitfinex, 12h. Source: TradingView

More recently, on September 7th, the Stellar Org revealed a potential partnership, further raising expectations. However, similar to previous announcements, no specifics were provided and only words such as “brand” and “real world” were used, suggesting a possible rebranding and move to real world assets (RWA) such as stocks, bonds and real estate.

Caroline Pham, one of the five commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), emphasized on July 17 that the recent court ruling on the classification of cryptocurrency assets will eventually lead to regulatory clarity. Commissioner Fan also highlighted the importance of RWA and highlighted the opportunity to modernize financial markets through the tokenization of money market funds through blockchain technology.

No, Elon Musk is unlikely to come to the rescue of XLM

Unfounded rumors that XLM may be integrated after Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) received a money transmission license from regulators on Aug. 28. Notably, X had previously been approved by six other states prior to this latest announcement.

Also, it’s worth noting that even if X decides to integrate multiple cryptocurrencies, XLM’s current market cap of $3.4 billion isn’t enough to place it among the top 20 contenders. A similar analysis using Messari Crypto’s “real volume” rankings shows that XLM ranks 20th in terms of trading volume, behind Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Sui (SUI), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple’s XRP ( competitors such as XRP).

In mid-August, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) tapped its cash coffers to become a minority investor in payments provider MoneyGram International. SDF, the entity behind the development of Stellar’s native token, previously entered into a commercial partnership with MoneyGram in 2021.

SDF CEO and Executive Director Denelle Dixon said the investment will contribute to MoneyGram by expanding its digital presence and exploring blockchain technology.

Stellar’s website states:

Your app can now seamlessly connect to MoneyGram’s retail network through a single integration, allowing users to deposit or withdraw cash from digital wallets via Stellar USDC without the need for a bank account.

The site adds various benefits of the integration, including the ability for users to “top up their digital wallet balances with cash,” conduct “near-instant, low-cost cash transactions” using the “US dollar digital currency,” and “go through MoneyGram’s KYC process.” “User friendly interface. “

Related: Ripple Acquires Fortress Trust, Expands Licensing Portfolio in the US

Stellar’s statement may involve Soroban

Stellar is preparing to deploy a smart contract platform called Soroban on its mainnet. The company launched a $100 million adoption fund in October 2022 to encourage developers to launch application activity on its Futurenet testnet.

While this week’s price action has certainly been surprising, all indications aside from baseless speculation are that Stellar is positioning itself to compete in the $37.8 billion decentralized applications (dApps) market . According to DefiLlama, the current market leader, Ethereum, holds 56.6% of the market, despite having an average transaction fee of $4.

It is undeniable that RWA in decentralized finance (DeFi) has huge potential, as evidenced by MakerDAO’s holdings of US Treasury bonds, which increase the income of the protocol and effectively ease the loss of its DAI stablecoin in USDC. Increased risk exposure in USDC.

XLM investors will continue to eagerly await the announcement on September 12, but until there is concrete evidence that the payment network may be unlocked, further gains of 12% or more will surpass the $0.14 price last seen on August 10. The odds are still slim.