XLM Works Its Way Up: Where to Buy Stellar Lumens?

Unlike its direct competitor, Stellar was developed by a non-profit organization that aims to extend financial services to the unbanked areas of the world.

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(Press Release) – Let’s suppose, you are a newbie to the market. What comes to your mind first when talking about cryptocurrency? Obviously, it’s Bitcoin. Most people are used to the fact that any cryptocurrency should be as expensive as Bitcoin and jump in price wildly throwing investors into a panic. However, Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency in the market. Here, we are going to focus on the coin, which, despite its low price, plays a very important role in creating a viable crypto ecosystem.

What is Stellar Lumen?

Put simply, Stellar is a blockchain-based platform, and Lumen (or XLM) is its native token. Although Stellar Lumen doesn’t enjoy the rate of popularity that Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Bitcoin Cash do, it sits 6th on the list of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. If you look at the XLM to USD trade history via https://cex.io/xlm-usd, it is safe to say that the coin is a success despite its low price of only $0.23. But why?

Going back to XLM’s early days, you would find out that Stellar is actually a hard fork from the protocol of Ripple. Unlike its direct competitor, Stellar was developed by a non-profit organization that aims to extend financial services to the unbanked areas of the world. The network allows users to conduct fast and cheap cross-border transactions without the need for third parties or intermediaries. This concept is no new to the cryptocurrency community, however, there are several killer features that differentiate Stellar from its competitors.

Smart contracts

When it comes to choosing a smart-contract platform, the primary option that most of you will consider is Ethereum. It’s obvious because Ethereum introduced this functionality early on; given its first-mover advantage the community sticks to it – this is known as ‘network effect’. However, if you were to do a deeper research of the cryptocurrency industry, you would find out that Ethereum is not unique in its offerings.

Stellar is another platform powered by smart contracts, and many big-name companies have already put it to good use. One such company is IBM as it has preferred Stellar over Ethereum for creating their digital tokens on top of the public platform. Stellar’s smart contracts differ from Ethereum’s in that they allow developers to implement various ‘constraints’ like time locks, multiple signatures, sequential transaction processing, atomicity and batching.

Multi-asset support

Generally, the characteristic feature of almost all blockchains is that they let users transact a platform’s native token between two peers fast and with no third party needed. Stellar allows for all this as well, but… The thing is you can use any asset for holding and transferring within the platform – be it a fiat currency, stocks, precious metals, or a crypto token. How is that possible? The Stellar network consists of multiple trusted entities, known as ‘anchors’, that can issue assets. These ‘anchors’ are represented by financial institutions, businesses, individuals, etc. Each asset is defined by a code and backed by so-called ‘credits’ from the issuer.

In-built exchange

Due to the fact that Stellar supports different assets, it also allows users to swap those assets. It is done through an inbuilt decentralized exchange. This exchange has an extensive order book of all asset offerings, and if some of them match – they are executed automatically. If there are no direct matches for the orders placed, they can be satisfied by using Stellar Lumens as a bridge currency.

Now that you know all the ins and outs of the Stellar network, you might catch yourself thinking that it would be nice to own some of the promising coins that power this unique multifunctional platform. But is it that simple to purchase Lumens? Yes, it is. And the easiest way to do it is to use CEX.IO.

Why use CEX.IO?

Despite the fact that XLM has already cemented its rightful 6th place in the list of the largest cryptocurrencies, it is still not widely distributed among the exchanges. And when it comes to buying Stellar Lumens with fiat, the things can get really tough. This is where CEX.IO steps in.

This London-based exchange is a favourite with the people who are looking for straightforward methods of buying and trading cryptocurrency. By virtue of its user-friendly and easy-to-navigate interface, the purchasing of XLM at CEX.IO becomes a no-brainer. The best thing about it is that  you are able to obtain Stellar Lumens here via a regular credit or debit card that supports payments in USD or EUR. But how does it actually work?

There are several steps that you need to take when buying Stellar Lumens with a credit card at CEX.IO.

  • Step 1 – registration and verification. It is only natural that you need to undergo this procedure before performing any activity at the platform. To create a profile you will need to fill in your personal information like Name, Country you reside in, Address, etc. The verification step is going to be more demanding as it involves providing data about your IDs and a few photos proving your personality.
  • Step 2 – linking a card to the account. Go to the Deposit section – here you will be able to add your Mastercard or VISA card and verify it. While adding a card, you will be asked to enter the information about it (number, cardholder’s name, expiry date, etc.). You may also be required to send some photos for verification.
  • Step 3 – buying Stellar Lumens. Once the card is verified and the deposit is made, you can proceed to actually buying your first Lumens. Go to the BUY tab and identify how much money you can spend – the system will automatically calculate how many Lumens you can get. Press Buy and enjoy the coins on your account balance. What’s more, you can also use pre-defined purchasing options for $500, $200, and $100. As simple as that!

To sum it up

The world of cryptocurrency is fast-moving and exciting, but it is still risky and unpredictable. Day by day, there are loads of new crypto tokens entering the market (check https://coinmarketcap.com/) – some are highly promising while others are outright scams. In order to make a sound investment, you need to research a lot and learn to weigh the risks and benefits. Never expose yourself to potentially huge losses unless you can afford them.

This article first appeared on BitPinas: XLM Works Its Way Up: Where to Buy Stellar Lumens?


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