Stellar (XLM) Rises 4% Amid Payment Growth, Key Support Test

Network usage for Stellar has climbed following a series of concrete developments in November, shifting the focus back to its core utility as a payments network. A major catalyst was the activation of USDC and EURC card-settlement on Stellar by payments platform Wirex. This move, affecting over seven million users, directly channels everyday transactions onto the blockchain, significantly increasing stablecoin throughput and demonstrating practical, scalable use.

Adding an institutional layer to this activity, U.S. Bank began testing a programmable stablecoin pilot on the Stellar network. This development points to growing interest from traditional finance in leveraging blockchain for settlement, validating Stellar’s infrastructure for enterprise-grade applications. Furthermore, the recent integration of Space and Time (SxT), which now indexes the entire Stellar network to provide cryptographically verified data to institutions, represents a crucial upgrade to the chain’s underlying data infrastructure.

Together, these upgrades—spanning consumer payments, banking pilots, and data infrastructure—position Stellar less as a purely speculative cryptocurrency asset and more as a functioning, growing payments network. While the immediate market reaction to these fundamental improvements has been modest, analysts note that expanding stablecoin flows could cultivate stronger, more sustainable demand for the native XLM token over time.

Despite the positive momentum in utility, XLM’s price action tells a more cautious story. The token has trended downward since November 2024 and is now consolidating just above the $0.245 horizontal support level. This price zone has acted as a crucial floor, repeatedly preventing deeper losses over the past year, making its defense paramount for bullish sentiment.

The broader technical picture remains challenging. Weekly indicators are bearish, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) below 50 and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) in negative territory, suggesting long-term downward momentum persists. While short-term charts show a contained bounce within an ascending channel, analysts largely interpret this as a corrective move within a larger downtrend, not the inception of a new bull run. A decisive and sustained break below the $0.245 support is viewed as a significant bearish signal that could open the door to new yearly lows.

Even with the potential catalysts from network growth, analysts remain cautious about XLM’s near-term ability to rally. Multiple reports identify the $0.26–$0.27 range as the first major resistance zone. Beyond that, a broader cluster of resistance sits between $0.28 and $0.31, which has capped previous recovery attempts.

Some forecasts suggest a possible move toward the $0.31 level by year-end if positive momentum from adoption strengthens, though this outlook is tempered with medium confidence given broader market uncertainties. Ultimately, Stellar’s December narrative is supported by two opposing forces: demonstrable, rising real-world adoption and a price chart still struggling against long-standing technical resistance. Whether the gains in utility from entities like Wirex and U.S. Bank can translate into a sustained market recovery will depend squarely on XLM’s ability to firmly hold the $0.245 support level and subsequently reclaim key technical thresholds in the weeks ahead.