In a surprising turn of events, Stellar (XLM) has silently rallied by over 35% in the last two days. This surge follows a period of relative inactivity, making this move all the more interesting.
While XRP has been making headlines with its legal drama and price breakouts, XLM has taken a more technical and fundamentals-driven path, exhibiting indications of accumulation and increasing utility. This is especially evident in the stellar network activity, which has seen a return to 20 million daily operations.
For the first time since December 2024, XLM's price performance broke above the 200-day moving average (black line). The 50-day and 100-day MAs are hugging the current trading level around $0.27 to form a convergence zone that is frequently linked to volatility expansion or a trend reversal. Bulls still have room to run as the RSI stands at 58, highlighting bullish momentum without yet entering overbought territory at 70.
A major factor behind this rally is the surge in network activity. On-chain activities on Stellar have increased significantly, especially those pertaining to token transfers, payments, and the use of decentralized exchanges. This speaks to the widespread use of the network's primary strength — quick and inexpensive transfers — which are still in demand in the real world, particularly in cross-border financial services.
This difference in market behavior is striking when comparing it to XRP. With price action largely driven by speculation and legal overhangs, XRP has been trapped in a descending channel for months and is now testing the upper resistance of that pattern.
However, XLM's rally appears more natural and is backed by usage data rather than rumors or ambiguity. This is evident in the stellar network activity, which has seen a return to 20 million daily operations.
In the last 30 days, XLM's performance has been noticeably cleaner and more technically convincing, even though XRP still boasts higher volume and wider media visibility.
Looking ahead, a confirmed daily close above $0.29 would signal a breakout of the existing resistance cluster, with $0.34 being the next crucial level. If the $0.27 support fails to hold, a retest of the 200-day MA at $0.26 could occur.
In essence, Stellar's recent run is fueled by an increase in actual network usage rather than a mere technical rebound. As operational growth continues and the overall cryptocurrency market remains in risk-on mode, XLM may outperform XRP in terms of relative performance over the coming weeks.
