Buy Stellar (XLM)

Where can I buy Stellar?

You can buy Stellar at various European exchanges from as little as € 5, and buying it is as easy as ordering from a web shop. The list is limited to exchanges with a MiCA authorisation. You pay by credit card, SEPA bank transfer or Wero.

Only exchanges with a MiCA authorisation

Since 30 December 2024 the whole European Union has followed MiCA. The arrangements that carried previously registered firms through ended during 2025, so a national registration by itself falls short now. What a MiCA authorisation means for you:

• Ongoing supervision by an EU regulator applies to the platform
• Your euros and coins are held apart from the exchange’s own funds
• Charges and risks are to be made clear before you start
• A KYC verification of your identity is required

Even with an authorisation, the price risk is unaffected and stays with you.

The Stellar price and volatility

The crypto market is more volatile than traditional shares, and it runs 24/7. The XLM price can rise and fall quickly. The chart below gives an impression of how the price has moved over time. Spend only what you can afford to lose.

What is Stellar?

Stellar is a network for fast and cheap cross-border payments. It was set up in 2014 by Jed McCaleb, together with Joyce Kim, and is maintained by the non-profit Stellar Development Foundation. A transaction is usually settled within seconds and costs almost nothing. XLM, also called Lumens, is the coin of the network and is used among other things to prevent spam and to bridge value between currencies.

Unlike Bitcoin, XLM is not mined or staked. The network uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol, in which a group of trusted nodes confirms the transactions together. Coins were created at the start; in 2019 the foundation reduced the total supply sharply to around fifty billion XLM, and a separate inflation reward that once existed was abolished then. Staking like on Proof of Stake networks is therefore not possible.

Recent developments

Stellar has become more broadly usable in recent years. With Soroban, smart contracts came to the network, so developers can build applications on it too. Stellar is also used by established parties: the dollar stablecoin USDC runs on Stellar, Franklin Templeton launched a money market fund on it, and part of the international money transfers of payment providers run over the network. That practical use for payments is what sets Stellar apart from many other projects.

Storing Stellar in a wallet

After your purchase, your XLM sits in the exchange wallet, which controls the keys. For control yourself, send Stellar to a wallet of your own. Your options:

• Exchange wallet: built in and easy, but with the exchange holding the keys, not you
• Software wallet: Lobstr or Freighter, where you control the keys yourself
• Hardware wallet: a dedicated device like a Ledger or Trezor storing your keys offline, ideal for larger amounts

Note that a self-custody Stellar wallet needs a small amount of XLM as a reserve to activate the address. With a wallet of your own you get a recovery phrase; whoever has those words has access to your XLM, so keep it offline, never share it and never take a photo of it. If you lose the recovery phrase, your Stellar cannot be recovered.

How do I choose an exchange to buy Stellar?

Every exchange delivers the same XLM, so you mainly compare the terms:

• Low fees and the spread, without unexpected charges
• Which national regulator stands behind the MiCA authorisation
• Whether there is a mobile app
• The range of other coins
• Support in your language

The Stellar price can move sharply, and an authorisation is no safeguard against that. Decide for yourself how much you can afford to lose and do your own research.