Stellar’s XLM token led the crypto market’s gains on Saturday, rising 6% to $0.3880 and securing the top spot among the 20 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap over the past day.
The surge follows news from June 11, when PayPal revealed plans to expand its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), onto the Stellar blockchain. The launch, however, is still awaiting regulatory approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services. If cleared, it would mark PYUSD’s debut beyond its current networks on Ethereum and Solana.
PayPal highlighted Stellar’s speed and low transaction costs, describing it as a blockchain well-suited for practical payments and financial services. The planned integration is intended to make PYUSD more accessible for payments, cross-border transfers, and financial products like working capital loans—areas in which Stellar already has strong infrastructure.
According to PayPal’s statement, Stellar’s existing global network—including on- and off-ramps, local payment connections, and digital wallets—could bring PYUSD to users in over 170 countries. PayPal also sees opportunities to boost liquidity and settlement using PayFi, a digital financing tool designed to provide businesses with real-time capital in PYUSD via the Stellar network.
May Zabaneh, Vice President of Digital Currencies at PayPal, called the move a significant step in advancing blockchain for cross-border payments. Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, said the partnership could help drive stablecoin use in emerging markets and support small businesses globally.
PYUSD is issued by Paxos Trust Company and fully backed by cash and cash-equivalent reserves, maintaining a fixed redemption value of $1 per token.
Earlier this year, the Stellar Development Foundation released a short video featuring Ian Burrill, Senior Director at PayPal who leads the company’s crypto engineering team. Burrill praised Stellar’s efficiency and low fees, noting that launching PYUSD on Stellar would extend its reach to over 180 countries. He explained that enabling merchants to use PYUSD on Stellar could support real-time payments and enhance capital efficiency for businesses.
Technical Analysis
- XLM traded in a $0.071 range from July 11 at 17:00 UTC to July 12 at 16:00 UTC, experiencing about 20.59% volatility as it moved between lows of $0.345 and highs of $0.416, according to CoinDesk Research.
- A significant price spike occurred around 01:00 UTC on July 12, when XLM jumped from $0.354 to $0.393 on strong trading volume of 551.38 million tokens—well above the daily average of 234.19 million—establishing support near the $0.354 level.
- The rally continued until 11:00 UTC, reaching a session high of $0.416 before facing resistance in the $0.400 to $0.403 range, where institutional selling appeared to cap gains.
- In the final hour of trading, from 15:47 UTC to 16:46 UTC, XLM climbed 3.89% from $0.37 to $0.39, keeping bullish momentum into the session close.
- The session’s most pronounced move happened between 16:03 and 16:08 UTC, when XLM surged from $0.374 to $0.385 on volumes of 13.16 million and 17.14 million tokens—far exceeding the typical hourly average of 3.2 million.
- By the close of trading, XLM consolidated around $0.385–$0.387, forming a support base as traders turned their focus toward resistance levels between $0.39 and $0.40 highlighted in broader technical charts.
