Stellar price bounces as DeFi growth and user activity surge

Stellar may be gearing up for a breakout, as stablecoins, active addresses, and other metrics are on the rise.

Stellar (XLM) is showing signs of strength, both in decentralized finance and in technicals. On Friday, April 11, the stablecoin market cap on the chain broke $300 million, reaching an all-time high of $3.6 million. At the same time, active addresses on the chain rose to 1.5 million according to Nansen, a 6.5-fold increase since April 7.

This is happening as the token’s price nears key technical levels. On April 11, Stellar rose 5.33% from its daily low of $0.02252. This followed a bounce from the lower end of a descending channel that began forming in December.

With Stellar defending this support, the token is showing signs of shifting momentum. What’s more, if the token manages to stay above the midline at $0.2348, more bullish momentum may follow.

Why Stellar’s activity is surging

Stellar’s momentum has been slowly building over the past few weeks. On April 6, before the uptick in active addresses, Stellar was up 24% in transaction count from the week prior, reaching 70.5 million. That figure also rose 30% on a monthly basis.

A recent report by Nansen highlights several key technical improvements. For one, the Protocol 22 upgrade, launched in December last year, introduced enhancements for both users and developers. It enabled zk-SNARKs, making smart contracts faster and more private. Additionally, the upgrade made dApps easier to launch.

Other rollouts, including Galexie and the Stellar RPC, have made the network more transparent and its data more accessible. Galexie focuses on historical data for block explorers and analytics, while Stellar RPC supports real-time data used in DeFi applications.

The network also secured major partnerships, including with Stripe, Mastercard, and Paxos. For instance, Stripe enabled payouts with XLM, while Paxos launched its USD stablecoin on the Stellar network.