Why did the price of XLM go up?

Stellar (XLM) increased by 0.98% over the past 24 hours, continuing a 7-day upward trend of 1.95%, even as the overall cryptocurrency market showed weakness. The main factors behind this rise include:

1. Technical Breakout Confirmed – XLM jumped 2.5% on a 350% increase in trading volume, breaking through resistance at $0.317.
2. Institutional Trading Activity – On October 24, 74.39 million XLM were traded, suggesting that professional investors are accumulating.
3. Growing Ecosystem – Increased use of stablecoins and partnerships with companies like Visa and MoneyGram support positive market sentiment.

Deep Dive

1. Technical Breakout & Volume Surge (Positive Signal)

Summary: On October 24, XLM broke past the $0.317 resistance level, climbing to $0.3229 with a significant 350% increase in trading volume (74.39 million XLM). This confirmed an upward trend characterized by higher lows. Although some profit-taking caused a slight drop to $0.321, the overall momentum remains strong.

What this means: The breakout confirms bullish momentum, with the $0.321 level acting as immediate support. High trading volume during breakouts often indicates involvement from institutional investors, as seen with 2.9 million XLM traded during a consolidation phase.

What to watch: If XLM closes above the $0.323 resistance, it could aim for $0.36. However, if it falls below the $0.315 support, a retest of $0.302 is possible.

2. Ecosystem Growth & Stablecoin Adoption (Mixed Impact)

Summary: Stellar’s network activity remains strong, with stablecoin transaction volumes reaching $19.4 billion year-to-date in 2025. Partnerships like MoneyGram’s integration of USDC and Visa’s expansion of its settlement network demonstrate real-world use cases.

What this means: These developments build long-term confidence in Stellar, but short-term price movements don’t always reflect these fundamentals. Negative funding rates (-0.003% weighted) suggest some ongoing bearish sentiment in derivatives markets.

What to watch: Progress on the Protocol 23 upgrade (active since September 2025) and growth in real-world asset tokenization, which has reached $638 million, up 26% month-over-month.

3. Market Context & Sentiment (Neutral Impact)

Summary: Despite a market dominated by fear (Crypto Market Cap Fear & Greed Index at 34), XLM outperformed Bitcoin, rising 0.98% compared to Bitcoin’s slight decline of 0.02% over 24 hours.

What this means: XLM’s gains are driven by factors specific to the coin rather than broader market trends. However, indicators show that investors remain cautious about smaller cryptocurrencies, with altcoin season metrics down 67% month-over-month.

Conclusion

Stellar’s recent price increase is supported by a combination of strong technical momentum, increased institutional trading, and steady growth in its ecosystem. However, overall caution in the crypto market may limit further gains. The key question is whether XLM can maintain support at $0.315 and attract enough buying interest to challenge the $0.36 level.

What could affect the price of XLM?

Stellar’s price is balancing between upcoming protocol upgrades and uncertain market conditions.

1. Protocol 24 Upgrade – A mainnet vote on October 22 could improve network performance, but effects may vary.
2. Institutional Demand – Partnerships with Visa and MoneyGram, along with Grayscale’s XLM trust activity, point to growing interest (positive sign).
3. Market Sentiment – Negative futures funding contrasts with rising locked value on the network, creating mixed signals.

Deep Dive

1. Protocol 24 Upgrade (Mixed Impact)

Overview:
Stellar plans to vote on Protocol 24 on October 22, 2025. This upgrade aims to fix bugs related to data storage and enhance network stability. Validators (the network’s operators) need to update their systems, but users won’t see major changes. This follows the previous Protocol 23 upgrade, which focused on making the network faster and smarter (U.Today).

What this means:
While these technical improvements strengthen Stellar’s foundation, the price might be volatile in the short term as traders react to the upgrade’s success or any delays. A smooth update could boost confidence in Stellar’s use for business applications, but setbacks might cause doubt.

2. Institutional Partnerships (Positive Impact)

Overview:
Stellar is working with Visa to handle stablecoin payments and with MoneyGram to pay out USDC, a popular digital dollar. Additionally, Grayscale’s XLM trust (GXLM) has seen $240 million move off exchanges since August 2025, suggesting investors are holding onto XLM rather than selling (DigitalG15).

What this means:
These partnerships and investment trends could help keep XLM’s price steady around $0.30–$0.32 and potentially push it higher if collaborations grow. Visa’s global network might help Stellar become a key player in international payments, though it faces competition from Ripple’s XRP.

3. Market Sentiment & Technicals (Neutral Impact)

Overview:
Since October 11, 2025, XLM’s futures funding rate has been negative, indicating traders are betting on price drops. However, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on Stellar’s network reached a record $456 million, and the price is holding strong near $0.315 despite falling 50% from its peak in December 2024 (Yahoo Finance).

What this means:
The mix of bearish futures and bullish on-chain data shows a tug-of-war in market sentiment. If XLM’s price breaks above $0.36 (a key technical level), it could rally to $0.40. If it fails, the price might drop back toward $0.29.

Conclusion

Stellar’s price will depend on how well Protocol 24 is implemented, continued support from institutional partners, and whether positive network activity can overcome cautious futures traders. Keep an eye on the $0.36 resistance level and Visa’s progress with stablecoin payments. Can XLM’s real-world use finally separate it from speculative price swings?

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What are people saying about XLM?

The Stellar (XLM) community is divided between optimism for a price breakout and concerns about a potential correction. Key developments include the upcoming Protocol 23 upgrade and growing interest from institutional investors. Here’s what’s trending:

1. $7.20 price target if support holds – Veteran trader Peter Brandt’s bold prediction
2. Protocol 23 mainnet vote approaching – Q3 upgrade sparks discussions about scalability
3. Institutional ETP inflows rising – Products from WisdomTree and Grayscale show Wall Street’s growing interest

Deep Dive

1. @ali_charts: $7.20 Long-Term Target if $0.20 Holds Bullish

"XLM MUST remain above April’s $0.20 low and MUST close decisively above $1. Until then, this chart remains range-bound."
– @ali_charts (283K followers · 1.2M impressions · 2025-07-17 11:35 UTC)
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What this means: Peter Brandt’s $7.20 price target depends on Stellar maintaining key support levels and breaking out of a six-year period of sideways trading. While this goal is ambitious, it reflects increasing interest from institutions in Stellar’s technology for cross-border payments.

2. @DigitalG15: Protocol 23 Upgrade Nears Mainnet Vote Mixed

"Stellar’s Protocol 23 will introduce parallel execution for smart contracts, targeting 5,000 TPS. Mainnet vote set for August 14."
– @DigitalG15 (89K followers · 420K impressions · 2025-10-16 08:18 UTC)
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What this means: The Protocol 23 upgrade aims to significantly improve Stellar’s ability to process transactions and run smart contracts, potentially making it more competitive in decentralized finance (DeFi). However, opinions are mixed—if successful, it could attract developers and users, but delays might prolong the recent 27% price decline over the last 90 days.

3. @PaulGoldEagle: Institutional ETPs Drive Accumulation Bullish

"WisdomTree’s XLM ETP (XLMW) and Grayscale’s GXLM trust saw $240M inflows this month despite price volatility."
– @PaulGoldEagle (62K followers · 310K impressions · 2025-09-07 08:37 UTC)
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What this means: Institutional investors are buying Stellar at prices below $0.30, with exchange-traded product (ETP) holdings now making up 4.7% of the total Stellar supply. This pattern is similar to the buildup seen in XRP ETFs before its significant 495% price increase in 2024.

Conclusion

The outlook for Stellar (XLM) is mixed. On one hand, Peter Brandt’s optimistic technical analysis suggests a strong upside, while current market momentum is bearish (RSI: 45.6, down 12.49% over 30 days). The upcoming Protocol 23 upgrade and partnerships with companies like Visa and PayPal offer positive catalysts. The key event to watch is the August 14 Protocol 23 mainnet vote—a successful upgrade could support a price breakout above $0.50, while delays might push prices back toward the $0.22–$0.25 support zone.

What is the latest news about XLM?

Stellar is moving forward with important network upgrades and new payment partnerships, while traders keep an eye on key price levels. Here’s a quick summary of the latest updates:

1. Protocol 24 Upgrade Activated (October 22, 2025) – Validators approved important fixes to improve network stability before the mainnet vote.
2. Ripple-Stellar Humanitarian Partnership (October 23, 2025) – Working with the International Rescue Committee to improve how aid payments are made.
3. Price Breakout to $0.3230 (October 24, 2025) – A big jump in trading volume suggests growing interest from institutional investors.

In-Depth Look

1. Protocol 24 Upgrade Activated (October 22, 2025)

What happened:
Stellar’s network validators approved Protocol 24, which fixes a bug related to data storage and improves how nodes run. The upgrade was tested on the test network on October 21, then voted on for the main network on October 22. Operators running Stellar Core, Horizon, or RPC software needed to update, but developers using the SDK were not affected.

Why it matters:
This upgrade is mainly about maintenance, not new features, so it doesn’t directly impact the price of Stellar (XLM). However, keeping the network stable and reliable is important for businesses that use Stellar for things like cross-border payments. Smooth upgrades help maintain trust from these users. (CoinDesk)

2. Ripple-Stellar Humanitarian Partnership (October 23, 2025)

What happened:
Stellar and Ripple teamed up with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to make humanitarian aid payments more efficient. Stellar’s Aid Assist platform will handle the cash payments, while Ripple will track donations to ensure transparency.

Why it matters:
This partnership is positive for Stellar because it shows real-world use cases in important areas like humanitarian aid. Despite this, the price didn’t rise immediately because the market faced resistance at $0.3147, showing some hesitation about price moves based on partnerships alone. (Yahoo Finance)

3. Price Breakout to $0.3230 (October 24, 2025)

What happened:
Stellar’s price jumped 2.5% to $0.3229, breaking through a key resistance level with a 350% increase in trading volume (74.39 million tokens). There wasn’t any major news driving this move, but technical indicators showed a positive trend, including a strong support level at $0.321 based on Fibonacci retracement.

Why it matters:
This price action is cautiously optimistic for XLM. The high trading volume suggests that institutional investors might be buying in. However, the price pulled back slightly to $0.321 afterward, indicating some traders took profits. Now, traders are watching the $0.3230 resistance and $0.3150 support levels to see which way the price will go next. (CCN)

Conclusion

Stellar is showing strength through network upgrades, meaningful partnerships, and positive technical signals. However, overall market caution is keeping the price from making big moves. The key question is whether the stability improvements from Protocol 24 will help more businesses adopt Stellar, or if XLM will stay stuck in its current price range as investors remain cautious about altcoins.

What is expected in the development of XLM?

Stellar is moving forward with some important updates:

1. Protocol 23 Upgrade (Q3 2025) – This upgrade boosts the speed and security of smart contracts on the network.
2. Mobile Freighter Wallet (2025) – A new mobile wallet that lets users manage their assets easily and securely without relying on third parties.
3. SDP Hosted Mode (2025) – A simple, one-click payment system designed for businesses to handle payments quickly and efficiently.

Deep Dive

1. Protocol 23 Upgrade (Q3 2025)

Overview:
Protocol 23, completed in August 2025, allows Stellar’s smart contracts (called Soroban) to run multiple transactions at the same time. This means the network can handle up to 5,000 transactions per second with blocks confirmed every 2.5 seconds. These improvements make the network faster and cheaper to use, which is especially important for financial applications like Franklin Templeton’s $445 million tokenized Treasury bonds (U.Today).

What this means:
This is good news for Stellar (XLM) because it strengthens its role in tokenizing real-world assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). However, the success depends on how many developers start building on the upgraded network.

2. Mobile Freighter Wallet (2025)

Overview:
The Freighter wallet, which is currently only available as a browser extension, will soon have a mobile version. It will include features like single-use wallets, which allow users to make secure, one-time payments. This is especially useful for people in developing countries who need easy access to Stellar-based assets (U.Today).

What this means:
This update could help more people use Stellar, especially for sending money across borders and small transactions. Its success will depend on how user-friendly the app is and how clear regulations are in the countries where it’s used.

3. SDP Hosted Mode (2025)

Overview:
The Stellar Disbursement Platform (SDP) Hosted Mode will allow businesses to set up payment systems with just one click. This makes it easier to handle things like payroll and international payments. This feature fits well with Stellar’s partnerships with companies like Visa and MoneyGram (Yahoo Finance).

What this means:
This could increase the use of Stellar in business settings, which is positive for XLM. However, it faces competition from other payment networks like Ripple (XRP) and traditional systems like SWIFT.

Conclusion

Stellar’s roadmap is focused on making the network faster, easier to use, and more attractive to businesses. The Protocol 23 upgrade and new tools like the mobile wallet and SDP Hosted Mode support this goal. While these developments are promising, overall market trends and Bitcoin’s strong influence (holding 59% of the market) may limit short-term growth. The big question is whether Stellar can prove its value in real-world use cases and reduce its dependence on the ups and downs of the broader crypto market.

What updates are there in the XLM code base?

Stellar’s technology is moving forward with the Protocol 23 upgrade, new zero-knowledge (zk) proof features, and improved software tools.

1. Protocol 23 “Whisk” Upgrade (September 5, 2025) – Allows smart contracts to run in parallel, unifies event tracking, and improves performance.
2. Testnet Reset & Mainnet Vote (August 14, 2025) – Test network reset to prepare for Protocol 23, requiring developers to redeploy projects.
3. Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Infrastructure Integration (September 18, 2025) – Adds cross-chain proof capabilities with partners Nethermind and Wormhole.

In-Depth Look

1. Protocol 23 “Whisk” Upgrade (September 5, 2025)

What it is: This upgrade lets Stellar’s smart contracts (called Soroban) run multiple transactions at the same time, which can increase the network’s speed up to 5,000 transactions per second. It also standardizes how token movements are recorded, making it easier for developers to track and manage assets.
Why it matters: Transactions become faster and cheaper, which is great for decentralized finance (DeFi) and real-world asset (RWA) applications. This positions Stellar as a strong, scalable platform for businesses and institutions. (Source)

2. Testnet Reset & Mainnet Vote (August 14, 2025)

What it is: Before the new Protocol 23 goes live on the main network, the test network was wiped clean. Developers need to set up their projects again, and node operators must update their software to the latest version (v23.1.1). A vote on September 3 will confirm the upgrade on the main network.
Why it matters: This causes some short-term inconvenience but is necessary to ensure the network runs smoothly. It doesn’t immediately affect Stellar’s coin (XLM) price until the upgrade is fully adopted. (Source)

3. Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Infrastructure Integration (September 18, 2025)

What it is: Stellar added new technology that uses zero-knowledge proofs to securely share information across different blockchains, including Ethereum and those connected via Wormhole. This allows decentralized apps to work together across chains without limits on transactions.
Why it matters: This improves privacy and makes Stellar more compatible with Ethereum’s ecosystem, expanding opportunities for DeFi projects. It’s a positive step for XLM’s growth in decentralized finance. (Source)

Conclusion

Stellar is focusing on making its network faster, more connected, and ready for business use. With big names like Visa and Franklin Templeton already using Stellar, these updates strengthen XLM’s role in digital assets and payments. The big question is whether the faster speeds from Protocol 23 will attract more institutional real-world assets in 2026.