Stellar (XLM) is looking to rebound after a tough fortnight when its price swam in a worrying downtrend. The coin’s value has taken a dip from its all-time high of $0.91 reached in January. The value hit a snag and came all the way to trade at $0.15 against the USD on March 18th.

However, at the moment, its Lumens are among the brightest stars on the market, gaining quickly to trade at $0.20 in the last 24 hours. It has gained +6.86% against the US dollar and +2.23% against bitcoin.

Going forward it can be argued that the list of the hottest coins on the market can’t miss having this coin somewhere at the top.

Why is Stellar Lumens attracting a lot of attention?

The future of cross-border payments

Some may argue that this is a tight field, what with Ripple at the top, with a market cap almost five times larger. That may well be the case at the moment, but the work being done behind the scenes for Stellar adoption is without a doubt a step in the right direction.

As early as October 2017, Stellar was earmarked as one of the coins that have the potential to strike it big on the market. At the time, Stellar and IBM had just got into a partnership aimed at utilizing the cryptocurrency’s network to facilitate cross-border payments. Although the deal was geared towards the Asia-Pacific corridor, enthusiasm revolved around the possibility that future expansion to encompass the global market as possible.

A couple of days ago, IBM announced that they were testing the Stellar network for the purpose of deploying it for cross-border payments in a number of countries and in different currencies around the world. Projects like Ripple and Ethereum may be established or in the process of getting a hold of the market, but in Jed McCaleb, Stellar has a leader who is experienced enough to take it to the next level. And that seems to be taking shape in the form of the IBM partnership.

Speculation suggests that IBM could be lining XLM as the preferred cryptocurrency for use by partner central banks. We know that Ripple is working towards the same trajectory, but its centralized nature may eventually tilt the game in favor of Stellar.

What else makes Stellar great going forward?

Stellar as an ICO platform

This is one of Stellar’s prime avenues for growth. Though not the most visible aspects of this budding network, the current influx of high profile projects choosing it over Ethereum, for instance, suggests it has a lot to offer. The Stellar Network provides an easy to deploy framework for simple smart contracts, ideally putting it in line for a greater adoption as its value grows.

The crypto also has a built-in Stellar Decentralised Exchange (SDEX), a component that allows developers and individuals who want to launch ICO’s access easy listing once the token sale process is over.

The first indicator that XLM’s foray into the ICO market is serious was when the Mobius project chose it over the much fancied Ethereum. Other projects have sought to identify with Stellar, including the recent Kin Foundation and the just announced Heir ICO. All these projects are going to boost the Stellar network’s worth and long-term, impact on the value of XLM.

Stellar future

Stellar holds one key advantage over Ripple as they work towards financial revolutions across borders. That lies in the disparate approaches the two companies employ. While Ripple is content grabbing as many banks as possible, Stellar aims at working directly with the population, providing them with a cheaper, faster method of sending money from country to country or from one fiat currency to another.

The bearish market terrorizing cryptos isn’t a one-off thing, and volatility will continue to be an issue. However, the Stellar network is establishing itself well to deal with pessimistic trends in the future. The use of Lightning Network to improve speed and scalability will further make it suitable for cross-border payments. With a market cap of over $3.7 billion and a circuiting supply of 18,550,952,162 XLM, the next bullish run could see Stellar (XLM) go to $0.50 as it inches closer to the 2018 prediction of $1.