This article will explain all you need to know about stellar lumens, including how they work and how to use them. Read on to find out more.
Table of Contents
What is Stellar?
Stellar is a network that allows users to create and send digital forms of currency, including U.S dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), and even Bitcoin.
Users are also able to trade currency on this platform, and it is designed so that every financial system in the world can work using this one particular network, Stellar.
Stellar is not owned by a single person but by the public. This network handles millions of transactions each day and runs across an open network that is decentralized. This system is much easier and cheaper than other blockchain systems out there.
What Are Lumens (XLM)?
Stellar coins are also known as lumens (XLM) and are built into the Stellar network, making transactions quick and easy for users.
The network ensures that users have a small number of XLM at all times. The beauty of lumens is that they are free from political factors, and every user will always have lumens in their account, even if a very small amount.
There are 50 million lumens in the Stellar network today, and no more of them will ever be created.
What is Stellar/Lumens (XLM) Used for?
You can use stellar lumens in a number of ways. Let’s take a look at the options available.
Transaction Fees: XLM can be used to settle transaction fees and can also be used when trading across currencies.
Trading and Investing: Stellar lumens are predicted to be a particularly good currency to invest in as the prices are affordable and there is plenty of room for improvement. Lumens are also easy to trade, with transactions taking just five seconds.
Minimum Balance: You will always have a small number of lumens in your Stellar account.
What Makes Stellar Unique?
You may be aware that Stellar is often compared to Ripple, which has a similar structure. However, Stellar was designed with the ordinary consumer in mind along with those in developing countries.
The lumen was created so that users could complete transactions easily and quickly with low transaction fees.
Ripple, on the other hand, was developed so that banks could send money globally with low transaction fees. This became a great network for banks and financial institutions to use, but not so much for the ordinary consumer.
How Do Stellar Transactions Work?
Stellar can process up to 1,000 transactions every second, which cost less than a penny each. This small fee is used to help prevent cyberattacks on the system. Stellar lumens can be used to send payments globally in the space of a few seconds.
Beneficial Features Of Stellar
Let’s take a look at the most beneficial features of using this open network.
Easy Access
The beauty of the Stellar network is that it is so easy to use. All a user needs to access Stellar is a good internet connection and the appropriate software, i.e., lumens ready-wallet.
Alternatively, access to an online exchange is also another way to use the Stellar network.
Decentralized Network
Stellar is decentralized, meaning that it is not owned or run by one individual. Instead, the platform is owned by the public, and any decisions or activities are widely distributed so that each person has a vote.
This ensures safety and creates a sense of security, which is appealing to potential customers.
Annual Fixed Inflation
Each year, the fixed inflation rate increases by 1%. This helps to drive economic growth within Stellar and also accounts for XLM losses.
Fast Transactions
As discussed above, one great factor about using Stellar is the overall speed at which users can send transactions. A transaction can take just five seconds to send, which is quite impressive!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
It is important to do your research before delving into the world of cryptocurrency. If you have additional questions about Stellar the FAQ section below should help!
Is Stellar Safe?
Although all forms of crypto have some risk, Stellar lumens are generally safe to use as they charge a fee for every transaction and require at least 1 lumen (XLM) to be in every account.
This alone makes it hard for hackers to yield any sort of financial gain. Throughout its history, Stellar has never suffered any kind of serious attacks from hackers.
Conclusion
Stellar lumens are a form of cryptocurrency that can be used to send and trade currency.
The low transaction fees are not only attractive to users; the transactions themselves can be received within seconds when sent anywhere around the globe. If you are new to using cryptocurrency, you may be interested in using stellar lumens, particularly if you need to make large transactions overseas.
We hope this article has helped to answer your questions about what stellar lumens (XLM) are and what they are used for. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below!