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Not So Stellar: Coinbase News Doesn’t Stop XLM From Lagging Bitcoin

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:43 PM
Mauro Sacramento
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:43 PM

Earlier this week, Coinbase announced  in a blog post that it would add Stellar Lumens (XLM) support to its mobile cryptocurrency wallet app Coinbase Wallet with its next update, which the company expects to roll out over the next week. The wallet app will support Stellar’s testnet in an attempt to “aid developers and power users,” the fintech firm states.

Coinbase Wallet Adds Support for Stellar

The stellar price barely moved on the news, though it did shoot higher after bitcoin embarked on Tuesday’s mammoth rally. XLM rose an impressive 8.7 percent, though it also fell more than 5 percent against BTC.

As of press time, the stellar price stood at $0.13 for a daily gain of 4.5 percent.

stellar bitcoin price
Stellar lagged bitcoin by a considerable margin, despite the Coinbase Wallet news. | Source: Yahoo Finance

Stellar lagged bitcoin even though the Coinbase Wallet addition was theoretically bullish for the cryptocurrency.

“Our goal with Coinbase Wallet is to create the world’s leading user-custodied crypto wallet,” the San Francisco-based company states, noting that “adding support for XLM is an important next step in that direction.”

Unlike Coinbase.com, the Wallet app stores all private keys on the mobile device of the user, and is available for both Android and iOS. It currently supports bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, XRP as well as numerous ERC20-based tokens, and ERC721 collectibles on the ethereum blockchain.

Stellar’s Strong Past Month Indicates Future Growth

stellar price
Stellar has been on a tear in March. | Source: Yahoo Finance

Nevertheless, stellar currently ranks as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency following a month of bullish price moves.

On March 10th, XLM posted an 11.2 percent increase after a three-day uptrend, possibly caused by German-based media company Börsenmedien’s purchase of stakes in SatoshiPay , a $2 million startup that uses Stellar’s blockchain to conduct micropayments.

A day later, fintech platform YouHodler announced that it supports XLM as collateral for loans on its platform. Coinbase quickly followed – on March 13th, it introduced XLM trading pairs, as reported by CCN.com.

To solidify stellar’s strong month, IBM announced it has partnered with six global banks to facilitate cheaper and faster transactions with its World Wire blockchain platform – using the XLM blockchain – thus propelling the price to its highest point ahead of Tuesday’s surge.

All of this indicates a growing demand for XLM which might push its price even higher – assuming the bitcoin rally holds, that is.