Stellar XLM: 288% Surge in 1 Year Due to Whisk Upgrade

Amid the dominance of Bitcoin and Ethereum on the cryptocurrency market, one obscure digital coin of 2017 has stood out and is now up more than 288% over the past 12 months, sidestepping rivals to become a top performer. With the Stellar network voting today on its monumental Protocol 23 upgrade, otherwise known as "Whisk," investors are seeing huge opportunity in cross-border payments and inclusion with the hopes of attracting them to the platform through this proof of usage event.

 

This isn’t your everyday altcoin rally, however, Stellar XLM’s focus on real-world utility has the project posed to redefine global finance, and that makes it one to watch for investors that want high-growth opportunities in the rapidly changing world of crypto markets.

Historical Context of Stellar XLM

Stellar cryptocurrency, often referred to by its native asset XLM, originated in 2014, the result of a project launched by crypto pioneer Jed McCaleb — who is famous for having cofounded Ripple. Designed with the community in mind and for near instant, low cost cross-border transfers, Stellar was a fork of the Ripple code and was built to put the needs of people and access to financial services through their mobile devices at the forefront instead of corporate profit. It reached significant milestones with its launch in July 2014 and again in November 2015 with a major protocol update for efficiency using a new consensus algorithm.

To address the inflation and increase the scarcity of XLM, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) in 2019 put an end to it by burning 55 billion XLM tokens, which was more than half of XLM’s total supply so far, a decision that went a long way to stabilise the ecosystem.

Things continued to speed up in the 2020s: in March 2022, smart contract platform Soroban was founded, opening the door to powerful new applications of DeFi. Then came partnerships: first with MoneyGram in June 2022 for instant crypto-to-cash conversions and, later, with Bitso in July 2023 for transfers to South America. In the case of Stellar XLM, that was its all-time high of $0.93 reached back in January 2018, during the previous crypto bull market, but since then it has shown its utility by processing over 197 million operations in just June 2025 and there were more than $667 million in stablecoins backed by the XLM. These developments which have seen Stellar XLM at the center of bridging traditional finance with blockchain.

Stellar XLM Market Trends Now Available in the Following Development Version

Stellar XLM, on September 3, 2025, sits at $0.367 which is a feeble 1.46% price increase in the last 24 hours and over $207 million worth of trades. Given its $11.6 billion market cap and 31.7 billion XLM in circulating supply, the token was holding up better than I expected. Over the past 12 month period, Stellar XLM is up 288% while Bitcoin is up 88% and Ethereum is up 73%, suggesting its outperformance in a fairly choppiest of market centres.

Price momentum has weakened somewhat in late August (stellar is up by just 0.3% over the last 24 hours, 7:00 UTC), but technicals indicate further scope for gains. Immediate resistance is at the 50-day SMA of $0.416 followed by levels at $0.433, $0.49 and $0.52 Support is seen at $0.35. The support at the 200-day SMA at $0.312 is strong, and it shows consolidation ahead of the rally. Network stats are also great including with over 7.5M+ accounts (up 24% YoY) and over $4.2B in USDC payment volume processed.

Partnerships such IBM’s World Wire network that operates in 72 countries and MoneyGram which has worldwide reach have contributed to adoption rates. Today is a significant day for the Celo community, as validators are voting on the Whisk upgrade at 5 p.m. GMT that features parallel processing, unified events, and reduced fees to enable scalability of more than 5,000 transactions per second (TPS).

Market Performance of Stellar XLM: What Does It Mean?

This is a signal of how much Stellar XLM comes of age, marking a watershed moment for all involved. Investors: 288% yearly surge and Whisk update mean for insane returns — clear resistance leads to 177% pump to $1 from here as demand for XLM increases in reserve and transaction fees. Every single account locks in minimum 1 XLM and as network grows Billions might be locked further reducing token supply, increasing price upwards. Regulators can also appreciate Stellar’s focus on compliance, both from an ISO 20022 compatibility perspective and pilots with central banks such as Ukraine’s TascomBank and the EU’s MiCA-compliant stablecoin that is supported by the Central Bank of Ireland. This makes it a bridge for the CBDCs and mitigates risks in cross-border flows.

For business, with it’s ultra-low fees (cents per transaction) and 3-5 second settlement times, Stellar XLM slashes costs in remittances and payments by up to 60%, capturing 60% of corridors like the South Pacific by slashing fees from 11% to under 1%. Giant partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe ensures interoperability, as well as frictionless fiat-crypto conversions and asset tokenization - for example, Franklin Templeton money market funds. But bearish pressure from all-time high exchange stocks remains, favoring sales into strength in volatile conditions.

Future Outlook for Stellar XLM

The future of Stellar XLM looks really bullish and positive, supported by data and professional opinions. Predictions of XRP prices in 2025 suggest that the price will reach from $0.258 to $1.29, with the average expected to be anywhere between $0.48- $0.60 by the end of the year and up to $0.60 by the closing of September if the momentum continues. Trading is expected to be between $0.373 – $0.730 averaging $0.481 in 2026, which will be pushed by the scalability improvements of Whisk and the DeFi growing on Soroban. Over the longer term, XLM would be over $6 by 2030 helped on by real-world use in things like remittances, tokenization and CBDC integrations.

Analysts have pointed to Whisk, and the 5,000+ TPS it allows and unified events as a “game-changer” for institutional breakout. With fresh interest from upgrades, XLM could pop back to $1+ based on utility – not hype. IMF, World Bank, WEF authorities comments Stellar for focus on financial inclusion and community sentiment in X forums for its undervaluation as also demonstrated with the support of PYUSD by PayPal and for businesses for aid missions across the globe. Downside includes any correction of a market correction, but with locked liquidity and growing structure, Stellar XLM is set for a bullish pathway in defi era.

 

This article is contributed by an external writer: Caleb Obed