A Complete Guide to Stella (XLM)
Hello! Are you curious about Stella (XLM)? Today, I'm going to give you a detailed and in-depth explanation of Stella (XLM). I'll explain it in a friendly way so that anyone, from beginners to experienced users, can easily understand it. Let's go into the fascinating world of Stella together.
Introducing Stella (XLM)
Stellar (XLM) is not just a simple cryptocurrency. It is an innovative decentralized payment network based on blockchain technology that enables fast and cheap international remittances anywhere in the world. It first entered the world in 2014 under the name Libre (Lumens), and later changed its branding to the more intuitive 'Stellar'.
Stellar's vision is truly inspiring: to provide equal financial opportunity to the financially underprivileged, that is, those who have difficulty accessing banking services, around the world. This is a project that goes beyond simple technological innovation to realize social value.
Interesting Fact: The Stellar network is currently used in over 180 countries around the world, with millions of transactions taking place every day!
The Exciting History of Stellar
Stellar's founder, Jed McCaleb, is a legend in the cryptocurrency industry. He was previously a co-founder of Ripple, but founded Stellar with a vision to create a more open and inclusive financial system. On July 31, 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation was officially established, marking the beginning of a new era.
In January 2015, the Stellar network successfully generated its first block and began its full-fledged service. Since then, Stellar has experienced remarkable growth. In particular, in 2017 and 2018, it began to attract attention from companies by building a global payment network called World Wire through a partnership with IBM.
Currently, Stellar is actively traded on major exchanges around the world, including Binance, Coinbase, and Upbit, and has become one of the representative altcoins that maintains a high market capitalization.
Stellar's innovative operating principle
Stellar's technical excellence is truly amazing! Instead of the traditional proof-of-work (PoW) method, it uses a unique consensus algorithm called the 'Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP).' This method can significantly reduce energy consumption while maintaining high security.
The most impressive thing is the transaction speed. Transactions on the Stellar network are completed in an average of 3 to 5 seconds, which is revolutionary compared to the days it takes for existing banking systems. In addition, the transaction fee is 0.00001 XLM (less than 0.1 won), which is almost free!
The Stellar network introduces the concept of 'Anchor' to act as a bridge between fiat and cryptocurrency. Through this, various currencies such as dollars, euros, and won can be tokenized and traded on the Stellar network. You can think of it as a global currency exchange implemented on the blockchain.
Various real-life applications of Stellar
The scope of Stellar's utilization is wider than you can imagine! The most representative use case is international remittance. Overseas workers in countries like the Philippines, Mexico, and Nigeria can save up to 90% on fees when sending money back home using Stellar compared to traditional services like Western Union.
Stellar is also playing a big role in microfinance. Small loans, savings, and insurance services are being provided through Stellar-based mobile wallets in financially underserved areas in Africa and Southeast Asia. This is giving billions of people access to financial services for the first time.
An interesting use case is in the charitable donation sector. By leveraging the transparency and traceability characteristics of blockchain, you can see in real time how donations are being used. Several international NGOs are already introducing donation systems through Stella.
A Complete Guide to Stella Exchanges
Stella is currently traded on over 100 exchanges around the world. In Korea, direct KRW trading is possible on major exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, and overseas, it is actively traded on Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
There are several important factors to consider when choosing an exchange. The first is security. It is important to choose an exchange with no history of hacking and a high cold wallet storage ratio. The second is trading volume. The higher the trading volume, the higher the liquidity, making it easier to trade at the desired price.
The third is the fee structure. Maker/taker fees vary by exchange, so choose an exchange with a fee structure that fits your trading pattern.
Pro Tip: Compare prices across exchanges! Sometimes, there are price differences between exchanges, which can create arbitrage opportunities.
Passionate Stellar Community
The Stellar community is incredibly passionate and active! The official Reddit r/Stellar has over 400,000 active members, and they share information in real time on various platforms such as Telegram and Discord.
The developer community is particularly active. The Stellar Development Foundation regularly hosts hackathons and provides substantial prize money and support to excellent projects. Through this, the Stellar ecosystem continues to develop.
The Korean community is also active. Korean Stellar holders gather to share information through Naver Cafe, KakaoTalk open chats, etc., and regular offline meetings are also held. If you participate in the community, you can quickly access the latest news and analysis, which will help you invest.
Guide to Choosing a Safe Stellar Wallet
Choosing the right wallet is essential to safely store Stellar! They can be broadly divided into hardware wallets, software wallets, and mobile wallets, each with its own pros and cons.
Hardware wallets (cold wallets) are the safest option. Ledger Nano S/X, Trezor, etc. support Stellar, and there is almost no risk of hacking because it is completely isolated from the internet. If you plan to store a large amount of Stellar for a long time, we strongly recommend a hardware wallet.
Official Stellar wallets such as 'Solar Wallet' and 'LOBSTR' are popular as software wallets. They are convenient to use and provide various functions, but they are less secure than hardware wallets because they are connected online.
Mobile wallets are convenient for everyday small transactions. ‘Coinomi’, ‘Trust Wallet’, etc. support Stellar, and you can easily send money by scanning a QR code.
Security Tips: Never store your wallet's seed phrase (recovery phrase) online. It is the safest to write it down on paper and keep it in a safe place!
Things to know when investing in Stella
If you are considering investing in Stella, please keep in mind a few important points. First, the cryptocurrency market is very volatile. It is common for the price of Stella to fluctuate by 10-20% per day, so please invest only within the range you can afford.
Second, you should pay attention to Stella's fundamentals. Don't just invest by looking at the chart, but also follow the news of the Stella Foundation's partnership announcements, technology updates, and increasing real-world use cases. This information has a significant impact on long-term price formation.
Third, don't forget the importance of diversification. No matter how good Stella is as a project, it is dangerous to invest all your assets in just one coin. It is wise to build a portfolio with other major coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Finally, always check the latest information and follow the DYOR (Do Your Own Research) principle. Do not rely solely on the opinions of others, but check the official Stella website, white paper, roadmap, etc. directly before making investment decisions.
This concludes the detailed post on Stella (XLM).
I hope this helps you on your cryptocurrency investment journey, and I hope you always invest carefully and wisely! Thank you! 🚀⭐