What Is Stellar Lumens and Its Key Features

Stellar Lumens, also known as XLM, is a digital currency that's part of the Stellar network, a decentralized platform that enables fast and low-cost cross-border payments.

The Stellar network was founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, who also co-founded Ripple, another well-known digital currency. Stellar Lumens is the native cryptocurrency of the Stellar network.

Stellar Lumens allows for fast and global transactions, often settling in just a few seconds. This is achieved through a process called "horizon", which enables the network to process multiple transactions at once.

Stellar Lumens is a blockchain that aims to connect people and financial institutions around the world. Its goal is to make the economy more inclusive by creating accessible, cheap, and easy-to-use global payment systems.

Founded in 2014, Stellar Lumens is similar to many other blockchain projects in that it allows you to transfer wealth around the world quickly and cheaply.

Transfers are verified on the blockchain, which makes them safe and almost free.

The Key Features of Stellar Lumens make it an attractive option for those interested in blockchain technology. One of the standout features is its decentralized and open-source database, which is a hallmark of a true blockchain platform.

The transaction confirmation time on Stellar is incredibly fast, taking only 3 to 5 seconds. This is made possible by its efficient consensus mechanism.

Stellar can handle a large volume of transactions, supporting thousands per second. This makes it well-suited for applications that require high transaction throughput.

Multi-signatures and smart contracts are also enabled on the Stellar network, providing users with a range of tools and features to work with.

Transactions on Stellar are incredibly fast and efficient, taking place within five seconds, with costs amounting to fractions of a cent. This is made possible by the unique Stella Consensus protocol.

Stellar's architecture allows for seamless multi-currency transactions, enabling users to send funds across borders without the hassle of formal banking procedures or currency exchange. User A can send USD to user B using Yen, making it a truly decentralized forex.

The network uses Lumens (XLM) as an intermediary for exchange, converting funds from currency A into Lumens on the global marketplace, and then converting them to currency B for the user receiving the funds. This process is pretty ingenious.

Stellar can also search for individuals looking for USD to exchange for Lumens, connecting you to someone looking for Lumen in return for Euros and then making sure the transaction goes through. However, the network could go through a conversion chain if none of these conversions are available.

Here are the three ways Stellar accomplishes multi-currency transactions:

Distributed Exchange allows users to place exchange orders onto the public ledger to sell or buy other currencies, with all rates pre-determined by the individual placing the order. This exchange is not limited to fiat currency only, and it also includes cryptocurrency and fiat trading pairs as a trading option.

The Stellar protocol ensures the integrity of the financial network through its consensus mechanism, Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA). FBA achieves operational efficiency through quorum slices made by each node.

Each node within the network knows its essential participants, which are organized into mini-networks. These mini-networks are the backbone of the FBA system.

When a transaction initiates, a node waits for most participants within its mini-network to agree on the transaction before considering it settled. This process ensures that a sufficient number of participants in the network accept a transaction.

A transaction is considered settled only when most participants within a node's mini-network agree on it. This creates a secure and reliable financial network.

Here's a simplified breakdown of how FBA ensures network integrity:

This consensus mechanism ensures the security and integrity of the financial network running on the Stellar network. It prevents hackers or attackers from rolling back transactions, maintaining the freedom from blocked states.

Smart contracts on Stellar are a game-changer. The Stellar Development Foundation announced their plan to bring Turing complete smart contracts to the network in March 2022. This will increase the surface area for developers to innovate on the Stellar network.

The Soroban platform, launched on the mainnet in the first half of 2023, will serve as a new type of smart contract platform built to perform. It's designed to scale and provide reliable access through the Stellar network to financial rails.

Developers can start writing and deploying smart contracts in a test environment and be rewarded for it. Soroban introduces Rust-based smart contracts to the Stellar network that are Turing complete and are built on WASM.

The Soroban Adoption Fund has allocated $100M to developers who create products and tools that support the Soroban ecosystem. This includes an incentive program to encourage developers to test Soroban, share their feedback, and create Soroban content.

The Stellar network allows for the issuance and anchoring of assets, including dollars, euros, stocks, gold, and other tokens of value. This is made possible by the Stellar Distributed Network, which is used to hold, transfer, and issue assets.

Issuing assets on the Stellar network is a straightforward process, and Anchors play a crucial role in it. Anchors are responsible for holding deposits and issuing credits as needed.

To issue assets, you can use the Stellar Distributed Network, which is capable of holding, transferring, and issuing assets such as dollars, euros, stocks, gold, and other tokens of value.

Anchors facilitate the movement of value from traditional banking systems into Stellar and vice-versa, serving as a bridge between the Stellar network and other payment rails. This makes it easier to issue assets on the network.

Here's a summary of the key responsibilities of Anchors in issuing assets:

Stellar blockchain offers a wide range of business applications beyond financial markets.

Stellar has the potential to be used in various industries, including financial markets, to ensure organizations can safely perform essential functions.

Anchors in more currencies is one of the potential applications of Stellar blockchain, allowing for more flexibility in transactions.

Mobile and trading clients are also possible, making it easier for users to access and trade on the platform.

API Mashups can be used to integrate different services and applications, increasing the platform's functionality.

Merchant plugin is another application, enabling merchants to accept payments and manage their finances more efficiently.

Stellar blockchain can also be used for micro savings accounts for school, health, and insurance, making it easier for people to save and manage their finances.

Microinsurance is another potential application, providing insurance to people who may not have access to traditional insurance services.

P2P lending is also possible, allowing individuals to lend and borrow money directly from each other.

Conditional cash transfers, donation systems for nonprofits, loyalty points programs, community currencies, time banks, and volunteer hour tracking are also potential applications of Stellar blockchain.

Anywhere ATM or human ATM mobile apps are also possible, making it easier for people to access their funds and make transactions on the go.

These applications demonstrate the versatility and potential of Stellar blockchain in various industries and use cases.

Soroban is Stellar's smart contract development platform, which is Turing complete and built on WASM. It's designed to scale and provide reliable access through the Stellar network to financial rails.

Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced Soroban's plan in March 2022 as a strategic part of their technical roadmap to increase the surface area for developers to innovate on the Stellar network. Soroban will be launched on the mainnet in the first half of 2023.

Developers can start writing and deploying smart contracts in a test environment on Soroban, which is now live on Futurenet. They can be rewarded for it, and Soroban introduces Rust-based smart contracts to the Stellar network.

Soroban smart contracts are batteries-included, meaning they come with a developer experience that's easy to use. The Soroban Adoption Fund has allocated $100M to developers who create products and tools that support the Soroban ecosystem.

The Sorobanathon: First Light incentive program encourages developers to test Soroban, share their feedback, and create Soroban content. This includes tutorials and code examples, and more details are available on soroban.stellar.org.

You can store XLM in various wallets, but most are either XLM specific or part of Stellar's network for use with its global marketplace.

The Stellar team has created a Desktop Client specifically for the XLM currency, making it easy to access and manage your funds.

For non-Stellar-exclusive wallets, the Ledger Nano S is a safe bet, but you can also consider stargazer, Papaya, and Saza if you don't have the Ledger Nano S.

XLM has had an interesting trading history, to say the least. The coin experienced a 5x increase in value at the end of 2014.

That runup was short-lived, and the price slowly fell throughout all of 2015, 2016, and even the beginning of 2017.

It wasn't until May 2017 that things really started to turn around for the coin. The price skyrocketed from $0.00547 (~0.00000363 BTC) to just over $0.047 (~0.0000283 BTC) in four days.

The exact cause of this monumental jump is unclear. It may have been a recent airdrop the team hosted, more people learning about the project, or just typical market shenanigans.

The XLM price more or less followed the rest of the market after the early May rise. It grew to an all-time high of over $0.91 (~0.000061 BTC) in January 2018.

XLM has weathered the bear market significantly better than most other altcoins. In fact, it's only lost around 50 percent of its BTC value when many other coins have lost over 90 percent.

If you're looking to buy XLM, you have a few options to consider. Bittrex, Poloniex, and Binance account for a vast amount of XLM's trading volume.

Poloniex is one exchange that still uses the STR ticker, even though the Stellar team changed it to XLM. Binance and Bittrex support both ETH and BTC trading pairs, while Poloniex supports BTC, USDT, and USDC only.

If you want to buy XLM with USD or EUR, Kraken is worth taking a look at. Binance and Bittrex support both ETH and BTC trading pairs, while Poloniex supports BTC, USDT, and USDC only.

Blockchain recently added support for XLM and gave away $25 worth of XLM when you verified your identity.

Most wallets used to store XLM are either XLM specific or exist within Stellar's network for use with its global marketplace.

The Stellar team has created a Desktop Client that is specific to the XLM currency, making it easy to access and manage your XLM funds.

Stronghold is the distributed exchange built into Stellar's system, allowing you to trade or send funds directly from the platform.

If you don't have a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S, you could consider using stargazer, Papaya, or Saza as alternative options.

The Stellar team is led by Jed McCaleb, a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency space, who previously founded Mt. Gox and Ripple. He left Ripple in 2013 due to differences in ideology and went on to found Stellar.

Stellar has an impressive advisory board, featuring notable figures like Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, and Sam Altman, President of Y Combinator. This team of experts brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the project.

The Stellar roadmap is a bit unconventional, as they don't have a concrete plan on their website. Instead, they post regular monthly roundups on their blog, highlighting their biggest developments and partnerships.

Stellar Lumens was founded in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, a well-known programmer and former founder of Mt. Gox, the world's leading crypto exchange at one point.

Jed McCaleb is also a co-founder of Ripple, a tech firm he later departed from due to disagreements. He then joined forces with Joyce Kim to create the Stellar protocol, built on top of Ripple's technology.

The Stellar protocol was created to advance worldwide financial access, comprehension, and engagement, aiming to forge an inclusive economic system accessible to individuals across various income brackets.

Stellar Lumens received $3 million in seed funding from payment company Stripe, which received 2 billion XLM tokens in return.

In 2016, Deloitte partnered with Stellar to develop a payment app, showcasing the company's growing influence in the fintech space.

Stellar gained prominence in October 2017 by announcing a collaboration with IBM to establish multiple currency routes connecting South Pacific nations, aiming to handle over 50% of cross-border transactions.

Jed McCaleb is the face of Stellar, having previously co-founded Ripple, a notable competitor.

The project boasts an impressive advisory board, featuring notable figures such as Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, and Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress.

Naval Ravikant, founder of AngelList, and Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, are also part of the stellar advisory team.

Stellar's leadership team is rounded out by Jed McCaleb's experience and vision.

The Stellar team has been actively working on their roadmap, and it's impressive to see the progress they've made. They post monthly roundups of the biggest developments, which gives us a clear idea of their goals and achievements.

One notable partnership they secured is with IBM and KlickEx for cross-border payments, which was highlighted in their October 2017 roundup. They've also partnered with Remitr, MSewa Software Solutions, PesaChoice, and Chaneum ICO Advisory Services.

Their network is designed to be flexible and accommodating, making it an ideal platform for overseeing ICOs and blockchain startup fundraising. This flexibility could facilitate a multitude of cryptocurrency and fiat payment options for startups.

In 2018, they partnered with Blockchain, a wallet provider, which included integrating XLM support into Blockchain and airdropping up to 500 million XLM to Blockchain users.