Stellar Lumens (XLM) took its place in the top ten most valuable altcoins during 2018. Long seen as the most natural rival to Ripple (XRP), this digital currency has been threatening to break its key resistance level in recent times.
Is the price of this coin on the way up. Is it a potentially good investment or something that is best avoided?
Current Value
At the time of writing, the price of Stellar Lumens is at $0.079, compared to the all-time high of $0.93. This gives it a total market cap of $1.5 billion. It is currently the 9th biggest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap and is now easy to buy using a reliable broker such as eToro.
This coin was launched in 2014. Like Ripple, it is a global payment and currency exchange platform, designed to make it easier to send payments and remittances across the planet. While Ripple is already being used by some major banks, Stellar Lumens is regarded as being aimed more at the general public and small businesses.
It is worth bearing in mind that the man behind this currency is Jed McCaleb. This American programmer also founded Ripple before leaving them and co-founding Stellar.
The price of Stellar Lumens has gone through its fair share of ups and downs. 2014 saw it rise to five times its original value before entering into a long, steady decline. Mid-2017 saw it begin a revival that has carried on until current times, largely avoiding the large drops seen in many other digital currencies. The release of the Starlight update in late 2018 helped to increase demand for this coin.
Predictions for the Future
What is in store for Stellar Lumens for the rest of 2019 and beyond? The majority of analysts believe that this coin will enjoy strong growth in the immediate future. However, their predictions vary in a couple of important ways.
First of all, there are differing opinions on how much it could grow by this year. Some experts believe that XLM could double its value in 2019. Others suggest a more modest increase, such as 10%.
The other crucial issue is the key resistance level. This is the point at which a currency reaches a certain value that sees it break through to the next level. Some experts put this at $0.17 for XLM while others suggest a figure of $0.35.
The $1 figure is another important barrier that the currency has to cross. If it does this, then it is probably safe to bet that Stellar Lumens has broken through to the mainstream.
What to Look Out For
Perhaps the key factor here is in the partnerships being opened up between Stellar and other companies. These deals help to promote the use of the coin and also increase public awareness of it.
A few of the most noteworthy Stellar partnerships to date include those with Stripe, Deloitte, and the Wanxiang Group. These big tie-ins could prove crucial to the currency’s future success.
Another point to consider is that, at the end of 2108, there were rumors of a partnership between Stellar and Ripple. The personal history involved may make this seem unlikely but the commercial reasons for doing this seem to make sense, as they each focus on different segments of the market just now.
Will It Out-Perform Ripple?
For many people, the key question is whether Stellar will manage to out-perform Ripple. Since they both offer very similar services in terms of fast, reliable cross-border payments, it is easy to think that only one or the other can succeed. With Ripple predicted to have a strong 2019, is that bad news for Stellar?
Is this the case of direct rivalry, though? By targeting different market sectors and partners, there should be enough room for both of these platforms to grow.
As for the direct price comparisons between them, it is clear that Ripple had a strong head start due to being launched first and performing well over a long period of time. However, the recent performance of XLM suggests that the future could see things getting tighter.
Overall, there is no doubt that this is a currency to keep a close eye on. Opinions on its future are divided but the signs currently point to an exciting time ahead for Stellar Lumens.
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