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Here’s Why Stellar (XLM) Could Soon Catch Up To Ripple (XRP)

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Stellar (XLM) is up close to 40% over the last twenty-four hours against its USD counterpart and is up close to 900% since the start of December. This is a coin that is picking up a huge amount of speculative attention right now, even against a backdrop of weakness in some of the more established cryptocurrency markets, and the extra attention is translating to some pretty substantial volume spikes. In the last twenty-four hours alone, more than $670 million dollars’ worth of XLM changed hands.

What’s driving this action and where do things go next?

Before answering, it’s worth delving into the history of this one a little bit.

Most reading will likely be familiar with Ripple (XRP). For those that aren’t (and for those that are, but aren’t familiar with its history), it was initially conceived by a guy called Ryan Fugger who, after a couple of years of working on the project, handed it over to Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb.

XLM Daily Chart

XLM Daily Chart

In 2014, McCaleb left Ripple to form Stellar. It was initially set up based on the Ripple protocol but subsequent to a fork in the Stellar network, has since been based on what’s now called the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP).

So what’s the difference between Ripple and Stellar?

Well, both are designed as systems through which two or more parties can conduct cross-border payments, quickly and cheaply. Both employ a native cryptocurrency (for Ripple, it’s XRP and for Stellar, it’s XLM) and these coins are used for a variety of things – transaction fees, DDOS protection, etc.

Where they differ, however, is in their respective intended use cases.

Ripple is going after the big banks. The company wants its platform to form the base of cross-border exchange between one financial institution and another, replacing the current systems (primarily SWIFT) and, in doing so, removing the inefficiencies associated with these existing processes. And as major news outlets are reporting in the press subsequent to XRP’s huge run over the last few week, Ripple is being somewhat successful in its efforts.

While Ripple is going after financial institutions, however, Stellar is going after a much more individual use case. It’s still based on a cross-border exchange type platform and it’s still designed to facilitate quick and easy exchange and transfer but, in Stellar’s case, the parties on either side of the transaction aren’t global financial institutions.

Instead, they are individuals from developing countries that want to send money back to their families. They are small businesses in struggling economies that want to transact on a global scale but that can’t gain access to bank accounts of traditional exchange mechanisms. In line with this vision, Stellar is also set up as a non-profit entity.

Is the non-profit element a red flag?

No. If you were asked to buy shares in a non-profit company, you’d turn that down (if you are looking to make a return, that is). When you buy XLP, however, you’re banking on the success of the platform in terms of adoption, not how much money the company behind it makes.

So what’s driving the action now?

Well, people are looking at what Ripple has achieved and are assuming that Stellar can do the same. The technology is, after all, similar, and Ripple is proving that it can work on a global scale. If Stellar can follow in Ripple’s footsteps and start to prove the market for this sort of platform in an alternative use case, there’s no reason XLM can’t catch up to XRP during 2018.

Of course, XRP has some hurdles to clear before it does this but, given what both companies have achieved to date, it’s far from an unreasonable suggestion.

We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest on XLM, sign up below!

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.


Image courtesy of Stellar.

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Bitcoin Price Dumps Below $41,000 Amid Uncertainty

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Bitcoin price dumped hard on Monday, briefly slipping below $41,000, erasing gains recorded in the previous week. The premier cryptocurrency seems to have exhausted its recent rally propelled by industry vulnerabilities. At the time of writing, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading slightly lower at $41,385. Bitcoin’s total market cap has dipped by 2% over the past day, while the total volume of BTC tokens traded over the same period climbed by 58%.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has been facing retracements and a rollercoaster over the past few days after recently rocketing to a 20-month peak. On-chain data has suggested that many investors used the opportunity to take some profits, leading to a decline in the asset’s price.

Bitcoin’s price slump is mirrored in the wider crypto market, with the global crypto market cap decreasing by 1.85% over the past 24 hours to $1.55 trillion. The total crypto market volume has increased by 32% over the same period. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has plunged from a level of extreme greed to a greed level of 70, suggesting a decline in risk appetite.

Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market capitalization, is currently trading at $2,167, down almost 3% for the day. Meme coins have been hit hard by the market slump, with Dogecoin and Shiba Inu down by more than 4% over the last day.

Last week on Thursday, cryptocurrency experts took notice of…

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Bitcoin Price is in Consolidation Mode Despite Market Optimism Post-Fed Decision

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Bitcoin price edged lower on Thursday despite optimism in wider markets on the back of the Fed’s interest rate decision. The flagship cryptocurrency has been consolidating above the critical level of $42,000 after briefly topping $44,000, its highest level in 20 months. Bitcoin was trading 0.71% lower at $42,569 at press time. BTC’s total market cap has increased by more than 3% over the last day to $832 billion, while the total volume of the asset traded over the same period jumped by 22%.

Economic Outlook

Bitcoin price has been trading sideways over the past few days, suggesting a pause in its recent rally towards $45,000. The premier cryptocurrency has decreased by 4% in the past week but remains 15.22% higher in the month to date. The digital asset has staged a significant recovery this year after a torrid 2022 in which a string of scandals, including the collapse of FTX, led to a market meltdown, undermining the credibility of the sector.

The crypto market has been buoyed by the Fed’s latest interest rate decision. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive time, in line with market expectations. With the easing of the inflation rate, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to keep the benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a targeted range between 5.25%-5.5%.

Additionally, the central bank indicated that three rate…

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Bitcoin Price Blasts $44K in Spectacular Surge as Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval Looms Large

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Bitcoin price has been hovering above the $43,000 psychological level over the past two days amid anticipation about the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. The flagship cryptocurrency has climbed more than 16% in the past week and nearly 170% in the year to date. Bitcoin’s total market cap has increased by nearly 5% over the past 24 hours to $858.9 billion, while the total volume of the token traded rose by 43%. The Bitcoin price was trading at $43,914 at press time.

Fundamentals

Bitcoin price has posted significant gains over the past few days, climbing to its highest level since April 2022, before the crash of a stablecoin that started a litany of company failures, pummeling crypto prices. The world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly topped the crucial level of $44,000 on Wednesday amid rising momentum despite being massively overbought.

According to analysts, with no spot bitcoin ETF approvals yet and the halving event five to six months away, the market is riding on FOMO. Capital has been flowing in the Bitcoin market amid enthusiasm that the launches of spot ETF will bring in billions of dollars of new investment into the crypto sector.

Investors have already started providing capital as seed money for ETF products. Notably, a recent report by CoinDesk showed that the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, received $100,000 in capital from a seed investor for its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund…

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