Stellar's XLM climbed 22.33% over the past week to $0.19111, riding the same wave that sent XRP up 40.94% to $1.3988 as capital rotated into payments-focused tokens. The move lifted XLM off a reversal bottom near $0.15232 and put a key resistance band back in play for the first time in weeks.
Traders are now watching the $0.217 to $0.230 zone as the level that decides what comes next: a clean break above it opens the door to $0.26 and eventually $0.30, while a rejection there would likely send price back toward support at $0.177 and $0.152. If XLM instead fails to clear $0.195, the more probable outcome is a consolidation range rather than an outright breakout.
Protocol 28 Adds a Fundamental Catalyst
Underpinning the price move is Stellar's rollout of Protocol 28, an upgrade the network has branded “Adapter”, which raises the network's theoretical throughput ceiling by 65% to 3,351 transactions per second. The centerpiece change, CAP-83, lets validators begin voting on transactions before they've received the full transaction set, reducing the delays that slow data propagation used to cause. The network currently counts 2,968 monthly active developers building on it.
Related: XRP Surges 40% in a Week as Clarity Act Momentum Builds
Real-World Assets Keep Piling In
Stellar's tokenization push has become a parallel growth story to its price action. The network now hosts roughly $3 billion in real-world assets, including a $490 million issuance tied to partnerships with Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance. A previously announced DTCC partnership is set to bring tokenized Russell 1000 securities and ETFs onto the network in the first half of 2027, giving Stellar a foothold in institutional markets well beyond retail trading.
Why XRP's Move Matters for Stellar
XRP's rally has its own momentum tied to Ripple's expanding footprint: a $275 million Ripple Prime bond issuance and regulatory approvals for its RLUSD stablecoin in both Japan and under Europe's MiCA framework. Because Stellar and XRP occupy overlapping cross-border payments territory and are frequently traded as a pair, XLM has historically tracked a portion of XRP's larger moves with a lag — which is exactly the pattern playing out this week. Analysts expect directional confirmation for XLM by mid-September, once Protocol 28 voting concludes and any developments around the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act become clearer.
