Stellar Lumens (XLM) is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market. It has been around much longer than many of its blockchain competitors and has prominence to back that up. If you’ve been wondering how to buy Stellar Lumens (XLM) tokens, this guide will tell you how to do just that.
In this guide:
What is Stellar Lumens (XLM)?
In simple terms, Stellar Lumens is a network for users to send and receive money. More specifically, Stellar Lumens is a protocol by which developers can build their own currencies representing real-world assets, and trade them anywhere around the globe.
Included with Stellar’s development capabilities is a decentralized exchange and marketplace for trading Stellar-based assets. Transactions are made with XLM, Stellar’s native cryptocurrency, in the same way that Ripple (XRP) facilitates transactions. Only on Stellar, users can trade digital representations of any currency, fiat or otherwise, once they learn how to buy Stellar Lumens.
Interestingly, the protocol was founded by the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ripple, Jed McCaleb. He actually left Ripple to found the Stellar Lumens project.
Stellar even included some Ripple blockchain code at its launch.
Transactions on Stellar are validated via nodes or users participating within the network. Each Stellar crypto wallet broadcasts its balance every five seconds. Nodes check those balances and, through that knowledge, validate any transactions being made. After all, if nodes know which wallets hold what, they can validate if value transfers are legitimate.
Which wallets support XLM?
If you want to know how to buy Stellar Lumens, you must also have a way to store it. All sorts of wallets support XLM. Many cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance support the asset; you can invest via these platforms with fiat or other cryptos.
Otherwise, the Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets support XLM for ultimate security. Then there are the Stellar-specific wallets like Solar or mobile wallets with exchanges like LOBSTR.
How to buy Stellar Lumens?
Believe it or not, learning how to buy Stellar Lumens is quite a simple task! First off, you’ll want to acquire a Stellar-supported wallet.
1. Acquiring a Stellar Lumens wallet
After you learn how to buy Stellar Lumens, you can then begin storing it. As detailed above, there are various Stellar Lumens wallets for you to use.
You can purchase a hardware wallet, sign up for an exchange that supports Stellar crypto, or download a mobile wallet. We’d recommend an exchange wallet to start, as you’ll have to head there to buy one anyway. You can always move the assets to another wallet later on.
2. Signup for an exchange
Next, you’ll want to sign up for one of the cryptocurrency exchanges listed above, such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. These platforms often require you to sign up using a valid email, to prove ownership of that email, and then to follow some know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies.
Most KYC and AML policies require you to verify your identity. This can take a day or longer at times, so it’s recommended you validate an identity ASAP.
Once everything on your account is validated, you must input a payment method or transfer previously owned crypto to your exchange wallet. When it comes to fiat, expect an exchange to support a linked bank account or debit card.
3. Invest in Stellar Lumens
Now for the easiest part! It’s time to convert your payment method of choice to Stellar Lumens. If you’re converting crypto to XLM, simply choose that asset and see if it has a trading pair within the exchange. If not, you’ll have to convert your crypto to a supported trading pair, such as bitcoin or ethereum.
Once that’s done, just type in the amount you’d like to convert into XLM. Hit convert, and you’re done! Congratulations, you now hold Stellar Lumens.
Otherwise, most exchanges support investing in XLM with a linked fiat service. If that’s the case, find a “Buy XLM” button within your exchange’s wallet. From there, you should be able to choose your linked fiat payment method and select convert or buy. Once the transaction validates, you’ve officially acquired Stellar Lumens!
Note that for security purposes, most exchanges make you hold assets in a wallet for 7–10 days before sending them somewhere else. Keep this in mind before investing, as you probably won’t be able to move Stellar to a hardware or other wallet right away.
And that’s about it! Now you know how to buy Stellar Lumens!
Is Stellar Lumens a good investment in 2021?
Never mind how to buy XLM, should you buy it? Whether or not the current Stellar Lumens price is a good investment is entirely up to you. Do you believe in the meaning behind the project? Have you done your research and think Stellar is worth the money?
It’s worth noting that Stellar Lumens is often within the top 25 cryptocurrencies on the market in terms of market cap. That’s certainly a fact that should be considered if you want to know how to buy XLM.
What will Stellar Lumens be worth in 2025?
It’s impossible to predict what the Stellar Lumens price will be worth in 2025. That said, if the project continues making partnerships and attracting developers to build new cryptocurrencies on it, it’s likely we’ll see Stellar Lumens stay valuable over time.
How do I stake XLM?
While you can earn interest on Stellar Lumens, it’s not through the process of staking like many believe. Instead, you can lend any held XLM to lending pools, earning interest and rewards on your lending. Don’t listen to anyone saying staking Stellar Lumens is possible. They’re probably trying to scam you.
Otherwise, that’s about it for our how to buy Stellar Lumens guide! Good luck trading out there, and never invest more than you can afford to lose!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is XLM?
Who created Stellar Lumens?
Are XLM and XRP the same?
Does XLM have a wallet?
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