Stellar news

XLM fell below $0.20, wiping out last year’s gains. Yet on‑chain activity surges, with more than 900 million XLM locked in DeFi, mostly in Blend and Aquarius, and about 60 000 weekly active users staying steady despite the dip. Open‑interest contraction points to a shift toward consolidation. Meanwhile, tokenized real‑world assets hit $1 billion and the network’s $200 m stable‑coin market cap, with MoneyGram testing its USD‑backed token, suggest that RWAs and stablecoins could drive future XLM accumulation even as prices remain low.

Rails has launched Institutional‑Grade Vaults on the Stellar network, giving brokerages and fintechs a single backend to access crypto perpetuals. The firm keeps a centralized matching engine while client funds are held in audited smart‑contract vaults on Stellar, with every 30 s of PnL, fees and liabilities posted on‑chain as Merkle roots that institutions can reconcile independently. By ring‑fencing client collateral from Rails’ own capital, the design aims to cut counterparty and operational risk – a response to past exchange implosions where assets sat in omnibus accounts. Rails, which has processed over $3.4 billion in volume, is registered in the Cayman Islands and is registering with the U.S. National Futures Association.

The third week of January 2026 is expected to see continued volatility in the crypto market, with three altcoins—PancakeSwap (CAKE), Stellar (XLM), and Tezos (XTZ)—highlighted for their upcoming developments and technical outlook. CAKE trades near $2.01 and faces bearish signals, but a community‑approved supply cut from 450m to 400m tokens could lift the price to $2.13. XLM sits at $0.215; a Protocol X‑Ray upgrade set for mainnet this week may reverse a 14% correction and push it to $0.23. XTZ is around $0.559 with potential downside to $0.517, yet the forthcoming Tallinn upgrade could support a rebound toward $0.626.

CME announced it will launch futures contracts for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) on Feb. 9, expanding beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum and signalling crypto maturity. Standard and micro contract sizes are 100,000/10,000 ADA, 5,000/250 LINK, and 250,000/12,500 XLM. CME’s 2025 crypto desk saw record daily volume of 278,300 contracts ($12bn notional) and open interest of 313,900 ($26.4bn). Micro contracts drove growth, while Solana and XRP futures quickly gained traction, validating CME’s playbook and supporting the new ADA, LINK, and XLM listings. ProShares filed six ETFs, including leveraged versions, for these assets, slated to launch March 31, depending on CME futures for liquidity and pricing. Market success will be judged by sustained open interest and tight spreads, indicating a genuine altcoin risk‑transfer venue.

CME Group will launch futures for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM) on Feb. 9, pending approval. Contracts come in micro and standard sizes to suit retail and institutional traders. The move reflects growing demand for regulated crypto risk‑management tools and signals confidence in the tokens’ spot pricing. The new listings follow CME’s existing suite of Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana futures.

CME Group will launch Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures on Feb 9, pending CFTC approval. Products will be available in standard and micro contract sizes, expanding institutional and retail access to these altcoins. The launch adds to an existing roster of regulated BTC, ETH, XRP, and SOL futures. The announcement had muted price impact, with ADA, LINK, and XLM dipping modestly as the broader market fell. Analysts view the move as a sign of institutional recognition, greater liquidity and risk management, and a bridge between traditional finance and crypto.

CME Group will list futures for Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar on Feb 9 pending regulatory approval, expanding its suite of regulated crypto derivatives beyond Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and Solana. Standard and micro contracts—ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 ADA, 250 to 5,000 LINK and 12,500 to 250,000 XLM—target both institutional and retail traders, reflecting growing demand for diversified digital‑asset exposure in U.S. markets.

CME Group will launch Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures on February 9, pending regulatory approval. Standard contracts will be 100,000 ADA, 5,000 LINK and 250,000 XLM, with micro sizes of 10,000 ADA, 250 LINK and 12,500 XLM. The new offerings expand CME’s already broad crypto derivatives menu, which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP. In 2025, crypto futures traded record volumes, averaging 278,300 contracts and $12 billion notional value. Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee has delayed a key crypto bill, heightening regulatory uncertainty.

Bank of America now permits wealth‑management advisers to recommend 1–4 % crypto allocation, including Bitcoin ETFs such as BITB, FBTC, Grayscale Mini Trust and IBIT. Bitcoin is down 30 % from its peak but up 5 % YTD. Meanwhile Ethereum’s January 7 BPO‑1 upgrade raises blob capacity to 15 per block, cutting Layer‑2 fees without a hard fork and benefiting Arbitrum, Optimism and Base. Stellar will launch Protocol 25 (X‑Ray) with native BN254 zk‑SNARKs and Poseidon hashes, easing on‑chain privacy apps. Other events include Hyperliquid’s $30 M HYPE token unlock, zkSync Era’s deprecation, Gnosis’s 3.0 roadmap reveal and Folks Finance’s 30 % APR staking offer.

The Marshall Islands has finished the first on‑chain universal basic income (UBI) disbursement, using the USDM1 dollar‑denominated sovereign bond on the Stellar blockchain. The program, called ENRA, replaces quarterly cash deliveries with digital transfers to citizens via Crossmint’s Lomalo wallet. USDM1, backed by short‑term U.S. Treasury bills and issued under New York law, is distributed through the Stellar Disbursement Platform. The move, led by the Stellar Development Foundation and Crossmint, demonstrates how blockchain can provide reliable, instant payments in a country with limited infrastructure.