The markets have seen a small amount of positivity over the past few weeks, though when we say small, note that we do mean small. As it stands, the markets are still way down from the figures we witnessed this time last year, with no chance of a surge that will pull Bitcoin back to $20,000.00 expected anytime soon either.

Earlier this week, IBM made a huge announcement with regards to their Blockchain World Wire Global Payment Network, an announcement that seems to have had a positive impact on Bitcoin and Stellar, though the rest of the markets have remained stagnant.

It’s worth noting that Blockchain World Wire works on the Stellar network, so it’s no surprise that this news has benefitted XLM, which at the time of writing has a value of $0.113.

I should mention that this is not investment advice, even though this news has helped push XLM and Bitcoin ever so slightly, it’s not going to cause the markets to sky rocket, therefore this should not be taken as investment advice. If you do decide to invest in Stellar, Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, do so off your own back, informed by your own research. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

According to Forbes, Marie Wieck, the General Manager at IBM Blockchain has said:

"We've created a new type of payment network designed to accelerate remittances and transform cross-border payments to facilitate the movement of money in countries that need it most. By creating a network where financial institutions support multiple digital assets, we expect to spur innovation and improve financial inclusion worldwide."

The major announcement from IBM came at the start of this week, when IBM announced that the Blockchain World Wire Network had seen an expansion across more than 50 countries, meaning a whole load of new countries had adopted this technology, therefore meaning that a load more people and institutions would start to use Stellars technology in order to settle payments. Great news for Stellar, bad news for Ripple - arguably Stellars closest rivals.

“This partnership was a significant step forward for cryptocurrencies. This is because instead of Stellar trying to compete with chartered financial institutions, they were able to include them in a productive way that is beneficial to all parties involved.”

Once the underdog in the shadow of Ripple, Stellar is now at the fore of international payments via the blockchain. The war between the two is hotting up, which can only result in the development of bigger and better blockchain technologies. What an exciting time to be an investor!