Stellar (XLM): Meaning, Features, and How to Buy Lumens
December 22, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Stellar got on the cryptocurrency train back in 2014. Growing from modest roots, this blockchain network and cryptocurrency has rapidly developed a strong foothold through the latter part of the decade, ultimately capturing a significant portion of the remittance market. Already adopted by many major companies across the world, Stellar has countless users in dozens of countries, making it a leading light in the cryptocurrency scene.
However, if you're new to the world of cryptocurrency, it's possible you may not even know what Stellar means. We'll be happy to introduce you - let's get into the details.
What Is Stellar?
Among users, the word Stellar is used interchangeably with two other terms: Lumens and XLM. While related, each of these terms has its own distinct meaning.
Starting at the basics, Stellar is a blockchain-based distributing ledger network that provides the ability for two users to transact. Lumens is the name of the cryptocurrency that is made for the Stellar network that users transact in, while XLM is simply the symbol or currency code for Lumens.
If you've spent any amount of time in the cryptocurrency community, Jed McCaleb is a name that's likely well-known to you. Initially coming on the scene as the founder of infamous Bitcoin exchange network Mt. Gox, McCaleb has since moved onto other projects like Ripple - a blockchain network designed for easier cross-border payments with faster processing times and lower costs.
However, McCaleb split from Ripple in 2014 and created Stellar with Joyce Kim. The primary difference between Stellar and Ripple is that Stellar is open source, meaning that the underlying source code powering the technology is available for everyone to view.
Primary Features of Stellar
The Stellar network is completely decentralized and open source, meaning that it has no central authority or location. How all of this works is technical and complicated, but all you as an end user need to know is that it's fast and reliable.
The key to Stellar's performance is twofold: the company doesn't allow resource-intensive mining and from day one, the network has been optimised for speed, meaning that users can enjoy record-breaking confirmation times. On average, Stellar transactions can take up to five seconds to confirm. Seeing as the system process hundreds or thousands of transactions at once, the confirmation time is incredibly impressive.
Stellar allows cross-currency transactions, and the way it works is marvellous. For instance, say you're looking to exchange AUD for USD. The platform will try to find someone else looking to trade their USD for AUD. If there is no one looking to make the USD to AUD exchange, the platform will take the long route and process multiple transactions to get you the currency.
Stellar uses Lumens for cross-border transactions. Suppose you want to send money from Sydney to London, you don't have to worry about exchange rates or anything. The platform will convert your AUD to Lumens at the best rate available at that time and then find the best rate for Lumens to GBP before depositing to your recipient.
Buying Lumens (XLM)
Unfortunately, there is no way to physically go and purchase Lumens or XLM in an office or store. It's a digital currency after all! However, you can create a Stellar wallet at CoinSpot to get started.
There are several online platforms where you have to go a very long route to get Lumens, such as buying another cryptocurrency from an online exchange and then using that to purchase Lumens. But that is entirely unnecessary, as you can use the above method to get your Lumens in minutes with CoinSpot.
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