The host of crypto channel Coin Bureau is unveiling his outlook for Stellar (XLM) next year after the XRP competitor’s lackluster performance in 2021.
In a new video, pseudonymous analyst Guy tells his 1.78 million YouTube subscribers that while Stellar (XLM) doubled in price this year, the altcoin’s gains are “peanuts” compared to the performance of other crypto assets.
According to Guy, Stellar’s poor price performance can be traced to one key reason: sell pressure, specifically from the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and growth of the Stellar network.
“The foundation only received $3 million at its inception. To my knowledge, it hasn’t received any additional funding since then. This means that the foundation has been relying on its sales of XLM to pay its expenses and fund the expansion of Stellar’s ecosystem, and this isn’t speculation either. The foundation’s XLM spending is clearly detailed on its mandate page, and I applaud it for its transparency.
The latest figures suggest that the foundation has spent over 5 billion of its 30 billion XLM so far, and the way back machine reveals that about 3 billion of this XLM were spent over the last year.
What’s more is that a paragraph at the end of the mandate notes, ‘as we said when we first announced this framework in November 2019, we intend to use or disperse most of these Lumens within 10 years, ideally sooner.’ In other words, the sell pressure isn’t going to stop any time soon.”
Guy also says that on top of the sustained selling pressure, XLM does not appear to have many demand drivers. Institutional investors are shying away from the crypto asset possibly due to the regulatory uncertainty related to XRP, according to the crypto analyst.
However, Guy says that favorable results from SDF’s partnership with MoneyGram may allow XLM to get back to its January 3rd, 2018 record high of $0.87.
In October, the remittance giant announced that it is integrating the Stellar blockchain into its network, enabling cash funding and payouts in local currency for consumers using Stellar USD Coin (USDC).
“The only demand for XLM is coming from the institutions the Stellar Development Foundation has partnered with and these partnerships are only starting to reach their final form. On the bright side, this paints a pretty bullish picture for XLM in 2022, and I could see XLM re-testing its early 2018 highs if its MoneyGram partnership delivers on its promises. Stellar also has no shortage of upcoming milestones, which could attract both retail and institutional interest.”
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