Stellar cryptocurrency is one of the most successful and well-known projects aimed at the banking and financial niche. Stellar is a blockchain platform that attracts users with favorable conditions for cross-currency transfers. The lack of a shared pool allows you to transfer coins in a matter of seconds.
Stellar is a technology that allows money to be transferred between individuals, companies or financial institutions. Like other cryptocurrencies, it is independent and operates in a decentralized network. The point of the network is to have as many independent nodes as possible, so the network will be operational even if some of the servers fail.
Stellars ledger keeps track of all balances and transactions associated with accounts on the network. Each server has a complete copy of the global ledger. This option enables the Stellar software to run. The launch of the server of the same name is available for any organization.
Stellars creators have been committed to making cross-border payments easier around the world. The technologies of this cryptocurrency combine technologies from Ripple and a decentralized protocol, this approach gives Stellar several important points:
Liquidity: when carrying out cross-currency transactions, Stellar uses anchors that reduce the level of commission for transfers. The option allows you to exchange assets without prior conversion.
High speed: Stellar refused to send transactions to the general fund / pool, which was supported by Bitcoin, all transactions in this system are sent to the node for verification and the transfer process takes about 5 seconds.
Availability: even residents of countries in which cryptocurrency is prohibited by law can receive transfers on the platform, Stellar can be transferred to any currency convenient for the recipient.
To purchase Stellar coins, the user will need to open an electronic wallet. It supports hardware, desktop and mobile formats. This cryptocurrency is traded on such exchanges as P2PB2B, Coinbase Pro, Hotbit, Exmo, BitForex, Kuna.
Today Stellar is exchanged for bitcoins, ethereum, dollars, rubles, hryvnia and other national currencies. XML operations are also possible on the official Stellar Desktop Client platform. Another tool for convenient trading is the Stronghold decentralized exchange built into the system.
Stellar cryptocurrency announced itself five years ago. It was the result of Jed McCalebs modification of the Ripple platform. As one of the founders of XRP, he saw Ripples lack of centralization, which is a major flaw in blockchain technology.
At the initial stages of the development of the project, it was financially supported by Stripe. The size of the investment was quite serious (3 million USD), so before the launch of the XLM token, the creators did not need to conduct an Initial coin offering.
The first months of its existence, the Stellar system operated on the Ripple protocol, and in 2015 the platform successfully moved to its own protocol, after which the tokens were given a new name - Lumens (XLM). Today, access to the Stellar code is open to everyone, any user can offer their ideas to improve the systems performance.
The main team consists of three specialists, they are Jed McCaleb, Nicholas Barry, David Mazires.
Jed McCaleb is co-founder and main developer. One of his successful projects was to create the eDonkey2000 file-sharing network, which became the largest file-sharing network of its time. McCaleb later worked on the development of Mt. Gox, a world renowned cryptocurrency exchange, and after the sale of the project in 2011, McCaleb co-founded Ripple.
Nicholas Barry is CTO with an MS in Science and is best known for his involvement in building systems for Microsoft.
David Mazires is a Computer Security Specialist and Professor of Information Science at Stanford University. Mazires is also the leader of a group of researchers working on secure electronic systems. Specializes in operating and distribution systems.
A number of world famous companies cooperate with Stellar. These include IBM (software development and delivery), Stripe (accepting and processing payments), Remitr (a supranational transaction service in Canada) and KlickEx (working with low-value currencies).
When Stellar entered the market in 2014, the price of one coin was around 0.002 USD, and the market capitalization did not exceed 768,000 USD. Over the next three years, the companys position in the cryptocurrency market has not improved. But since May 2017, the coin rate has gone up, in a short time it has grown to 0.06 USD, and the capitalization by that time has increased to 490 million USD.
In the second half of 2017, the cryptocurrency gained great popularity, thanks to which the cost of XML jumped to 0.27 USD, and the capitalization approached the mark of 5 billion USD. Another reason for the companys strengthening in the market was the contract with IBM, which allowed the use of XML for international transactions.
The rate reached a record high at the beginning of 2018, which is 0.89 USD. The rapid growth of XML has been driven by three important factors:
coincidence with the period of "peak" investment in ICO;
the appearance of XML on the Hong Kong exchange;
signing a contract with the Pundi X platform.
During 2018, the rate continued to fluctuate, it dropped to 0.33 USD and rose again, which made the crypto currency unpredictable for investors. In the fall of 2019, the price of XML dropped to the 2017 level, reaching $ 0.06. Today Stellar is ranked 13th on CoinMarketCaps rankings.
The easy start that Stellar boasts is based on several merits of the platform. First of all, these are inexpensive coins that provide a large return on long-term investment (XML is in the top 20 least expensive coins) In addition, Stellar allowed platform participants to launch their own ICOs and organized active forums with the ability to receive quick feedback, as well as launched the FairX project, which allows converting fiat into digital currencies.
In terms of its functions, Stellar meets all the requirements for a full-fledged modern cryptocurrency, and therefore can be used to pay for goods, form savings, conclude contracts and make money transfers.
Due to the lack of prevalence of Stellar (compared to Bitcoin), it is more difficult to find platforms that accept XML payments. If we talk about using Stellar as a working tool, then there are several directions:
Cryptocurrency trading. In 2019, the Stellar digital currency entered the ranks of the worlds leading cryptocurrencies, so many traders and investors began to invest in this asset to form a balanced portfolio. "Young" and successful cryptocurrencies have greater potential compared to bitcoin.
Intraday trading. The XML course experiences significant fluctuations throughout the day. For traders, such dynamics is one of the ways to make a profit, the unsettled price allows them to buy cheaper and sell more expensive. This technique allows you to get short-term profits without significant investments.
Initiating social change. Stellars global strategic goal is to reduce poverty around the world. The creators of the cryptocurrency wanted to provide financial mechanisms for those sectors of society that do not have access to banking services.
Stellar has launched its own development fund, Stellar.org, which is a non-profit organization. To facilitate this program, investors buy Lumens, helping to implement social programs.
XML is also suitable for regular blockchain fans. Users see Stellar as a good investment and the platform is popular in finance. For several years of active work, it has taken a leading position among the systems that realize the full potential of blockchain technologies.
The creation and validation of blocks in a Stellar chain consists of several stages:
Independent algorithms poll active network nodes about their readiness to participate in validation.
Transactions created by network participants are sent to active nodes in order to pass verification; the absence of a common pool allows this stage to be reduced to a few seconds.
Nodes validate transactions. This procedure takes place in the form of checking in its own copy of the blockchain information about transactions carried out from a specific address in order to find out if the sender owns enough coins to complete the operation. This approach avoids the common double-spending mistake.
After 80% of the nodes reach consensus, the payment is confirmed by the system. The nodes have no more than 10 seconds left to conclude a consensus.
The final validator who approves the transaction records the transaction in the ledger. The ledger is being synchronized with copies of other nodes.
The commission in XLM, which appears after the transactions are completed, is divided between the nodes that took part in generating the block.
One of the main developments of the Stellar system is the anchor, which acts as an intermediary; it exchanges one currency for another at high speed and minimal costs. The principle of anchor operation is as follows:
The user deposits 250 USD, which he wants to exchange for XLM.
The user enters his profile in Stellar, selects an anchor and transfers money (for example, using a plastic card).
The users account is increased by the indicated amount (the exact numbers depend on the current rate).
This scheme of work shows the efficiency when working with those cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies that are supported on the Stellar platform. All coin transactions are recorded in the ledger.
Stellar has significant development potential. Its capabilities have been appreciated by large companies such as IBM and Stripe, and the list of platform partners is constantly growing. A distinctive feature of this cryptocurrency is cooperation with many countries.
The Shariyah Review Bureau, which issued a certificate to it, fell into the platforms zone of influence. The recognition of the Stellar protocol by Sharia law speaks of the conquest of previously closed markets by cryptocurrency. XLMs compliance with Islamic principles allows in the future to establish and develop contacts with the countries of the Persian Gulf and the states of Southeast Asia.
The influx of new users is driven by the ability to exchange currencies with the lowest fees. The high liquidity of assets attracts investors and encourages them to stay on the platform.
Stellars feature list is expanding with the ability to create smart contracts. The technologies of this platform are simpler than those of Ethereum; in practice, several successful Dapps have been launched in the system.
Stellar is not yet so popular among ordinary users, remaining a highly targeted currency. The platform is not used for day-to-day operations, yielding positions to the popular Bitcoin or Dash.
Added: 16.01.2020 
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