Stellar is a blockchain network designed for moving value, issuing assets, and connecting to real-world payment rails through a system of anchors and standards. Historically, it has been framed as a payments-first chain that is optimized for low fees and fast settlement. In 2026, that foundation remains intact, but Stellar also supports modern programmability through Soroban smart contracts and a steady cadence of protocol upgrades.
Stellar’s value proposition is easiest to understand through its design constraints. The network is built to be efficient and accessible, which is why it uses minimum balances and tiny fees as anti-spam friction. At the same time, it aims to be practical for issuing and moving tokenized assets, not just the native token.
The native token, XLM, is not positioned as “gas for everything” in the same way as some smart contract chains. It is primarily a network requirement token. The official explanation from Stellar notes that accounts must hold a minimum balance and transactions carry a minimum fee, which creates just enough friction to prevent ledger spam while keeping the network widely accessible.
As of the current published network parameters, Stellar’s minimum balance for a basic account is 1 XLM and the minimum per-transaction fee is 0.00001 XLM, as described on that same lumens overview page. The developer docs add the deeper mechanism: a “base reserve” is used to calculate minimum balance, and the base reserve is currently 0.5 XLM, with subentries increasing the required minimum balance by one base reserve each.
Stellar’s supply model is also unusual compared to mined assets. The official lumens page explains that inflation was ended by a community vote in October 2019, the overall supply was reduced in November 2019, and now roughly 50 billion XLM exist with no further creation.
Stellar is designed to support digital representations of many assets, not only XLM. That asset model relies on accounts, trustlines, and issuers. A trustline is an explicit opt-in that allows an account to hold a particular asset, which helps manage spam and makes token relationships visible on-chain.
This matters because Stellar can support payments and conversions across assets through path payments and liquidity. When liquidity exists, value can route from one asset to another in a single flow. That routing model is useful for payments and remittances where the sender and receiver do not want to touch the same asset.
The “payments-first” framing is not marketing. It shows up in how the system is structured, and it explains why Stellar often focuses on standards, anchors, and real-world onboarding rather than purely on DeFi yield loops.
Stellar runs on the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), which is designed for fast finality without proof-of-work mining. The stability of the network depends on the validator set and on the incentives that keep validators aligned. This is where institutional and ecosystem involvement becomes meaningful, because validator diversity impacts network resilience.
For decision-makers evaluating Stellar in 2026, the question is not “is SCP better than everything else.” The practical question is whether the network’s operational model fits the use case. For payments, issuance, and regulated-style tokenization workflows, fast settlement and predictable fees can matter more than maximum composability.
Soroban brings smart contracts to Stellar. The milestone that shifted Stellar’s developer story was the Soroban mainnet launch, which Stellar announced as going live with Protocol 20 on February 20, 2024.
In 2026, the key point is that Soroban is not trying to be “EVM but faster.” It is built with different design tradeoffs that emphasize safety, predictable fees, and integration into Stellar’s existing ledger model. That means developer experience, tooling maturity, and ecosystem depth can look different than on older smart contract platforms. It also means certain classes of applications can be implemented with lower operational overhead when the goal is simple, secure business logic tied to payments and assets.
One of Stellar’s most notable recent upgrades is Protocol 25, code-named X-Ray. Stellar’s official upgrade guide lists key dates and marks the January 22, 2026 mainnet upgrade vote as completed.
Stellar’s developer documentation also lists Protocol 25 as the mainnet protocol as of January 22, 2026, which confirms activation at the protocol layer.
The implication is that Stellar is adding cryptographic primitives that make privacy and zero-knowledge application patterns more feasible at the protocol level. This matters for teams that want configurable privacy, compliance-forward disclosure, or proof-based applications that do not leak unnecessary data.
Stellar’s strengths are clearer when it is evaluated against real-world constraints.
First, fees and operational predictability are a core feature. The minimum fee and minimum balance model is explicit and stable, which helps when deploying consumer-facing payment experiences.
Second, the asset model is built into the system. Issuing assets, managing trustlines, and routing payments is part of the core design, not an afterthought.
Third, Soroban expands what can be built without forcing Stellar to abandon its payments identity. For many business cases, “payments plus controlled programmability” is more realistic than maximal DeFi complexity.
Finally, the protocol upgrade cadence shows a network that continues to evolve. Protocol 25 X-Ray is a strong example of adding developer capability without changing the fundamental payment and asset structure.
Stellar’s risks are mostly ecosystem and integration risks. Anchor risk is a major factor for real-world asset flows. If a user relies on a third-party anchor for off-chain redemption or on-ramps, then counterparty risk exists outside the chain.
Liquidity risk is another. Path payments and conversions depend on liquidity. If liquidity is shallow, routing can fail or become expensive. There is also smart contract maturity risk. Soroban is newer than older contract environments, which means tooling, audits, and battle-testing are still evolving. That does not imply insecurity, but it does imply that developers should be conservative with new patterns and treat early deployments as higher risk.
Finally, validator and governance dynamics matter. Network reliability depends on a healthy set of validators and on clear upgrade processes. For critical financial workflows, those operational details are as important as throughput claims.
Stellar is a strong fit for teams building payment-centric products, tokenized asset issuance, and cross-border flows where low fees and fast settlement are non-negotiable. It is also increasingly relevant for teams that want smart contracts tightly integrated with payment and asset mechanics, especially as Soroban and protocol upgrades mature.
For pure DeFi-native experimentation that depends on deep composability across hundreds of protocols, other ecosystems can sometimes offer more mature liquidity and tooling. Stellar’s edge is a more “payments plus assets” orientation that maps to many real-world deployments.
Stellar in 2026 is best viewed as a payments and asset network that is adding programmable capability without losing its efficiency focus. XLM’s role is grounded in network requirements, minimum balances, and fees, and its supply policy is clearly documented. Soroban gives Stellar a modern smart contract layer, and Protocol 25 X-Ray signals an intent to support privacy and zero-knowledge application patterns at the protocol level. For global payment and tokenization use cases that need predictable costs, clear asset mechanics, and an evolving developer stack, Stellar remains a network worth serious consideration.
The post Stellar (XLM) Review 2026: Payments Network, Soroban, and Protocol 25 X-Ray appeared first on Crypto Adventure.
Also read: Zcash Review 2026: Shielded Payments, Unified Addresses, and Funding Changes
