Our journey with this week’s token began back in April 2019 when it joined the Wirex platform’s diverse crypto offering, kickstarting a very special partnership of ours. Meet Stellar’s lumen token (XLM).
XLM is the Stellar network’s built-in, native token, which serves several purposes in the larger Stellar protocol.
By way of background, the Stellar network is an open-source, blockchain-based payment protocol used for quick, low-cost cross-border transactions of any currency pair. It aims to provide a cheaper, faster and more efficient payment system for all, by using digital representations of currencies as more accessible equivalents of their respective values.
Where does XLM fit in? Lumens are required within the Stellar system to meet minimum balance requirements and pay transaction fees, as well as help facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges by acting as a link between currency pairings.
Built by the non-profit Stellar Development Foundation in 2014, the Stellar network embarked on a mission to bank the unbanked and promote financial inclusion. Although often compared to Ripple (the projects share a founder and initially used the same technology), there are fundamental differences. While they both seek to speed up and cut costs of international transactions, Ripple is ultimately a solution for banks, and Stellar for individuals.
Another key differentiator is Stellar’s token hosting capabilities. Companies are able to launch their own token on its platform, with greater ease and security than main competitor Ethereum. We should know - we chose Stellar to back our very own Wirex Token.
All things considered, it’s no mystery as to why the Wirex/Stellar partnership came about. We share a long-term vision of financial services being open to all, and our approaches - of using blockchain technology to bridge traditional and digital finance - align perfectly.