Our team continues to expand the selection of coins and tokens available on the Bankera Exchange platform. Having recently added XRP, we are now pleased to welcome another leading cryptocurrency — Stellar lumens (XLM).

The Stellar Project

Stellar is a non-profit organisation with a mission to help the unbanked gain access to core financial operations. To connect everyday people and financial institutions, the project runs its own blockchain. Distributed ledger technology enables the project to offer faster and less costly cross-border payment alternative.

Similarly to Ethereum and NEM, Stellar blockchain has a smart contract feature. The feature provides blockchain users with an opportunity to build customized on-chain applications. For instance, it is possible to create an escrow account or hold a fundraiser on Stellar blockchain.

Stellar also offers a distinctive security solution that enables blockchain chargebacks. In case of fraud or unintentional transaction on the Stellar network, cryptocurrency holder can freeze the assets at stake. The frozen assets can either be returned to the original holder or remain frozen to prevent anyone else taking advantage of them.

Lumens: the cryptocurrency of the Stellar network

In 2014, the Stellar project launched 100 million units of its own cryptocurrency, initially named ‘stellars’. A year later, the name of the currency was changed to ‘lumens’, XLM in short, to distinguish it from the Stellar network and the project itself.

The primary purpose of XLM cryptocurrency is to help ensure smooth operation of the Stellar network. Every network customer is required to use a small portion of their lumens for paying transaction fees. Although the fee is minimal, it protects the network from DoS attacks that become incredibly costly to run.

Additionally, every account on the network must hold a certain amount of XLM. Abandoned accounts are frequently deleted to clear space for new users.

Similarly to XRP, lumens can be used for completing transactions with illiquid fiat currencies. For example, a Stellar network user that owns some US dollars wants to send them to a friend living in Europe. However, the friend would like to receive the payment in euros. In this case, the user’s USD assets will first be converted to XLM cryptocurrency and then exchanged to EUR before reaching the receiver.

To prevent the circulating supply of lumens from decreasing, the Stellar project holds an inflation pool. Each year, the amount of lumens equal to 1% of the total XLM supply is collected from the inflation pool and distributed among the XLM cryptocurrency holders.

Trade XLM on Bankera Exchange

On Bankera Exchange, lumens is paired with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Banker (BNK) cryptocurrencies. Users can already trade XLM using any of the supported currencies mentioned above.

What is more, BNK holders can trade all BNK pairs commission-free. For example, users wanting to exchange BTC to XLM can first convert BTC to BNK and then BNK to XLM without additional trading costs.

New to Bankera Exchange? Sign up and start trading today!

If you have further questions regarding XLM trading on Bankera Exchange, please contact our support via [email protected].

Please note that the information provided in the blog post should not be considered as financial advice. While Bankera Exchange makes best efforts to choose high-quality coins, we recommend conducting your own research before deciding to buy, sell or hold any cryptocurrency.