Stellar Lumens (XLM), the token of cross-border payment solution Stellar and the strongest competition to Ripple, has defied the flatline trend of todays crypto market and made impressive 7 percent gains. Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and EOS, by comparison, all have less than 1 percent gains.

The additional gains add to an overall 13 percent in upward movement that Stellar has enjoyed this week, following the shocking announcement on Tuesday of an impending 500 million XLM (approx. $125 million) airdrop facilitated by Blockchain.com.

News of the airdrop came as a surprise to the crypto community, considering the amount of assets involved and the fact that airdrops have increasingly become associated with failed ICOs. However, Stellar founder Jed McCaleb stated in the announcement that he believes airdrops are essential for creating a more inclusive digital economy and giving away Lumens for free is an indication to communities to design the services they need.

While the move has clearly increased interest and investment in the Lumens (XLM) token, it has been greeted with a mixed reception on Reddit. One user stated: This might end up qualifying as the most expensive marketing failure of all time. The overall community appears optimistic though, seeing it for its original intention – to drive adoption, not only for Stellar but cryptocurrency in general.

To qualify for a free $25 worth of XLM, users need to sign up for a Blockchain Wallet and complete Know-your-Customer (KYC) procedures, an anti-privacy regulation that many traditionalists in the crypto community are resistant to. For these reasons, some may see the airdrop as a tactic by Blockchain.com to continue attracting users in face of increasingly restrictive regulatory requirements.

At the time of print, Stellar Lumens (XLM) is trading at almost $0.28, up from $0.24 a week ago. Its market cap is $5.15 billion.

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Author: Jed McCaleb

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