Stellar has experienced a strong and sustained price increase in the last two weeks following three major announcements. First, IBM put out a press release talking about how they would be using a Stellar-powered blockchain to power their new payment network. Then there was the announcement about Coinbase listing Stellar on their exchange. Finally, Stellar recruited Mozilla’s COO to be the new CEO of their non-profit organization.
IBM’s Big Announcement
Stellar is uniquely designed so as to provide a connection to strong payment infrastructures for companies looking for innovation. IBM’s announcement explained how together with 6 banks, they would be creating a cheaper way to move money across borders, and do so more quickly than current solutions make possible.
As per the press release, the network will be named IBM Blockchain World Wire and each bank will be permitted to issue its own stablecoins for cross-border payments. Stellar’s blockchain will be an integral part of this process, and when fiat-backed stablecoins are deemed to be impractical or cumbersome for the transaction, XLM will likely be used instead.
XLM’s use as a potential bridge currency is a clear case of the foundation and token working symbiotically to improve each other. Although not all transactions will be using Lumens, it effectively becomes the “base currency” (much like the USD currently is) for these payment networks.
All of this comes on the tails of several other announcements by IBM related to cryptocurrency. Between their many patents, crypto custody solution, and partnership with Stellar, they are proving to be one of the biggest players in the space.
Coinbase Listing Brings Increase In Liquidity
Joining the Coinbase Pro offering is a huge moment for XLM and one that has a twofold effect. First, it represents an increased level of perceived safety in the protocol. But at the same time, it means that more liquidity will be able to flow directly into Stellar, as users will be able to buy XLM more easily.
Coinbase listings have a history of catalyzing bullish runs, and if the 6 banks included in IBM’s announcement do decide to use Stellar in their cross-border transactions, that would represent another significant increase in demand for Lumens.
Change-Up in the Executive Suite
Denelle Dixon reached prominence during her time as the Chief Operating Officer of Mozilla, and this next career shift signals big change within Stellar. Jed McCaleb founded the company and was its former CEO, but has moved to a role as Chief Architect within the company.
It is Dixon’s first role in the blockchain and cryptocurrency world, so she obviously has a lot to learn. At the same time, her work around Open Internet, encryption, and privacy is very relevant to the larger-term strategic decisions that will need to be made at Stellar in the next few years.
Each of these pieces of information on their own signal a strong week for the currency, but together they may be the sign of a stronger improvement in the cryptocurrency and its rising star. With its price increasing approximately 11% this week, and remaining stable, this represents a likely shift in the price dynamics of Stellar Lumens for the months to come.