Stellar is a cryptocurrency and a payment network simultaneously. It was a division of Ripple for the first time. Later, the developers created a separate open-source protocol and introduced new coins – Lumens. The XLM capitalization has reached 4.5 billion dollars.
The token shares common features with XRP. The whole amount – 100 billion coins were generated right after the foundation. And, they cannot be mined, as well. Each coin is sold at the rate of $0.2425. However, the low price, when it comes to digital cash, indicates the big supplies. As the rule, the price rises in time.
Get a Stellar Wallet
Generally, there are many approaches to store the coins. You can either obtain a hardware wallet or register a free online one or download the software purse. It is also costless. The hardware is the most secure storage, as it can be disconnected from the Internet.
Other types may become vulnerable. You can get the wallet on the official Stellar website or use another service accepting XLM. Once you got it, you can make financial operations through it, gain and trade Lumens. Bear in mind that pure trading platforms do not allow you withdrawing the coins. They do not give the access to them, but only let you speculate on the prices.
Exchange Lumens Directly
Unfortunately, there is no possibility to buy XLM directly. However, it does not make a big sense. You can always try another solution – use the cryptocurrency exchange and trading platforms.
Find the Exchange Supporting Stellar Lumens
The most convenient way to obtain Lumens, for now, is to go to the crypto exchange. You need to find the one to accept XLM. We must add that there are lots of websites with various offers.
You should consider such things as transaction fees, available banking options, available fiat and virtual currencies. The operators charge a commission as they enable manipulations with the virtual cash. They take from 1.5% to 4% on an average.
This concerns deposits and withdrawals. The trading takings are much lower-0.8-0.25% usually. Payment methods may be credit cards, wire transfers, electronic wallets and the cryptocoins.
Trade Your XLM with Fiat Currency
Once you have found the exchange, you need to register. Usually, the procedure will not take much time. You need to present your e-mail address and the phone number. The websites also demand to prove your identity. You should present such documents as the passport or your driving license.
After registration, you need to link your payment option to the account. There may be different max and min deposit amount. The minimal contribution may be as low as $20. And you may face a maximum limit of $10,000. Then you need to swap USD for BTC or ETH to obtain Lumens.
Buy Lumens with Bitcoin and Ether
Search for “Buy/Sell” page on the exchange and then find the appropriate pairs BTC/XLM or ETH/XLM, for example. If you do not keep any digital cash, then you need to purchase them first with any option you want: credit/debit cards, SEPA transfers, etc.
Withdraw
You can hold the coins in the exchange account. You may spend them for further trading. However, there is always a chance that something can go wrong.
There may be a risk that someone can hack the website and steal the funds. Or the operator may turn out to be a scam. Thus, the best solution is to transfer Lumens to your own hardware storage. This cold wallet will keep your XLM safe.
Important to Know
The Stellar network charges significantly lower fees (0.00001 Lumens for each transaction) in comparison with other cryptos. This is almost nothing. However, this feature may prevent DoS attacks from hackers. Also, the system offers an opportunity to freeze transfers. You can hold the transferred coins if you sent them to the wrong address. The receiver will not be able to use these funds.