Stellar's XLM token has skyrocketed over 80% in the past week following PayPal's announcement to launch its PYUSD stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain, pending regulatory approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services. The integration would enable PYUSD transactions across 180+ countries with fees as low as $0.001, significantly enhancing cross-border payment efficiency.
PayPal executives highlighted Stellar's suitability for high-speed, low-cost payments, with VP May Zabaneh emphasizing its potential to revolutionize cross-border transactions. Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon noted the collaboration could advance stablecoin adoption in emerging markets. Concurrently, XLM open interest surged 150% to $345 million since June, reflecting intense bullish sentiment.
Technical catalysts include the upcoming Protocol 23 upgrade on August 14, 2025, which will optimize Stellar's Soroban smart contracts to boost DeFi capabilities. On-chain data shows Total Value Locked (TVL) exceeding $90 million, with growing stablecoin usage. Stellar is also gaining traction in real-world assets (RWA), exemplified by Franklin Templeton tokenizing $446 million in U.S. government bonds on the network.
Price action saw XLM swing between $0.345-$0.416 (20.59% volatility) in a 24-hour period, peaking at $0.416 amid volume spikes of 551 million units—more than double the daily average. Resistance emerged near $0.40-$0.403 levels before closing at $0.39 with renewed momentum.
