Stellar (XLM) is an independent Layer-1 blockchain, not an EVM or Solana chain, launched in July 2014 to enable fast, low-cost payments and tokenized asset issuance.
XLM is the network's native asset, used to pay transaction fees and settle value on-chain, rather than a smart-contract token with a canonical contract address. The Stellar network supports cross-border payments, stablecoins, and real-world-asset tokenization, and is developed and supported by the nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation (SDF). Transactions confirm in seconds at very low cost.
Stellar differentiates itself through the Stellar Consensus Protocol, a Federated Byzantine Agreement model that confirms transactions in seconds without mining or staked capital, keeping fees minimal.
Stellar ecosystem TVL stood at approximately $1.03 billion as of August 2026, with 90-day network fees totaling roughly $101,866, reflecting negligible transaction costs, and daily active addresses averaging 54,874 over 90 days. Stellar has also become a focus of institutional tokenization efforts, including a planned Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) collaboration targeting tokenized equities, ETF trackers, and Treasury securities.
XLM is a utility token, not a governance token: it carries no on-chain voting rights over protocol upgrades.
Holders use XLM to pay Stellar network transaction fees, to serve as a bridge asset between different currencies and tokenized assets on the network, and to meet minimum account balance requirements for holding data on-chain. XLM does not function as a staking asset, since Stellar's consensus mechanism does not require staked capital to validate transactions or reward validators.
No new XLM is minted through mining or staking rewards, making net emission disinflationary as the foundation gradually distributes its remaining holdings through grants and ecosystem programs.
Stellar launched in July 2014 as an adaptation of the Ripple protocol, developed under the newly formed nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation.
The foundation initially held the entire original supply of approximately 100 billion XLM. Stripe, whose CEO Patrick Collison helped establish the foundation, provided $3 million in funding in exchange for 2% of the initial token issuance.
Stellar operates as its own independent Layer-1 blockchain rather than running on Ethereum, Solana, or another host chain.
It uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), a Federated Byzantine Agreement-based model authored principally by David Mazières, which confirms transactions in seconds without mining, proof-of-work, or proof-of-stake. Validators require no staked capital; network security instead relies on publicly identified validators and overlapping trust configurations among them. No on-chain financial incentive, such as a block reward, is paid to validators for participating in consensus.
Stellar was founded in July 2014 by three co-founders: Jed McCaleb, Joyce Kim, and David Mazières.
Jed McCaleb, who previously founded Mt. Gox and co-founded Ripple, serves as Stellar's Chief Technology Officer. Joyce Kim served as Stellar's first Executive Director before later moving to a CMO role at Proofpoint. David Mazières, a Stanford University computer science professor, serves as Chief Scientist of the Stellar Development Foundation and authored the Stellar Consensus Protocol. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison collaborated on the foundation's formation as an early backer.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a nonprofit announced in July 2014, develops and supports the open-source Stellar network without controlling its consensus or the ability to reverse transactions.
SDF runs an EMEA accelerator for blockchain-finance startups and hosts the annual Meridian ecosystem conference. In 2026, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced a tokenization collaboration with Stellar, reportedly making it the first public blockchain in DTCC's multi-chain tokenization strategy, targeting liquid equities, ETF trackers, and US Treasury securities for availability in H1 2027.
Stellar's governance is protocol-driven rather than based on on-chain token voting: validators run the Stellar Consensus Protocol, and each must maintain a publicly verifiable identity.
The Stellar Development Foundation stewards the network's development but states it cannot unilaterally change consensus rules or reverse transactions; protocol changes proceed through community and validator-driven upgrade votes. SDF funds ecosystem development, including audit subsidies, through programs such as the Stellar Community Fund.
A Protocol 28 mainnet upgrade vote, aimed at improving consensus performance and smart-contract maintenance, was reported for September 2026.
Stellar's security program centers on the Soroban Security Audit Bank, funded through the Stellar Community Fund, which subsidizes third-party audits of smart contracts built on Soroban, Stellar's smart-contract platform.
The program has conducted more than 40 audits and deployed over $3 million toward smart-contract security, working with six named audit firms: OtterSec, Veridise, Runtime Verification, CoinFabrik, QuarksLab, and Coinspect. Participating projects contribute 5% of audit cost upfront, refundable if flagged issues are remediated within 20 business days. No major ecosystem vulnerabilities have been reported since Soroban's launch.
