Stellar continues to record robust growth in real-world asset activity and on-chain usage even as its native token, XLM, trades near multi-month lows.
Tokenized fund inflows surge
As the broader cryptocurrency market saw a $120 billion decline in value, Stellar ranked first among tracked blockchains in tokenized fund growth, adding $291 million in a single day. This substantial daily increase was not an isolated event but came amid a series of notable institutional developments for the network.
In the past ten days, Janus Henderson launched the first Nasdaq-licensed tokenized fund on the Stellar network, while DTCC selected Stellar as its first public chain in its infrastructure. Franklin Templeton’s tokenized assets on Stellar reached $1.1 billion, further strengthening the platform’s presence in regulated fund offerings.
MetaMask integrated Stellar addresses for every account, Securitize outlined plans to expand on the network, and Bell debuted on testnet. Stellar’s recent inflows, according to analysts, have frequently placed the network at or near the top in tokenized fund growth across daily, 90-day, and year-to-date metrics.
Franklin Templeton’s holdings on the Stellar network surpassed $1.1 billion, marking a significant milestone for institutional adoption and regulated asset growth within the ecosystem.
DEX trading rises as concentration persists
Stellar’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume climbed 69% over the past week, largely driven by Aquarius, which remains the network’s leading liquidity management protocol. According to DeFiLlama, Aquarius reported approximately $95 million in 30-day trading volume, with its cumulative volume exceeding $800 million. It also held the highest total value locked among Stellar’s decentralized exchanges.
Despite the recent uptick in exchange activity, total value locked on Aquarius has remained steady, indicating that most of the increased trading is occurring within existing pools rather than from an influx of new capital.
The concentration within Stellar’s DeFi space continues, with a small group of protocols accounting for the majority of locked value and trading volume. This pattern suggests that growth, while notable, is not yet translating into broader network participation or a significant rise in new assets across multiple DeFi applications.
Rising DEX volumes in recent weeks have come without a corresponding surge in total value locked, implying more frequent rotation of existing liquidity instead of widespread expansion across Stellar’s DeFi protocols.
Token price lags on-chain progress
Amid bullish on-chain activity, XLM has returned to price levels seen before recent institutional product launches and integrations. The disconnect between Stellar’s network fundamentals and the token’s market value has prompted scrutiny among analysts and observers.
Key questions remain regarding the link between tokenized fund activity, rising DEX volumes, and sustained demand for the XLM token. Many institutional products on Stellar settle in assets other than XLM, and rewards or fees within the main DeFi protocols do not directly translate to native token purchases. As a result, the impact of increased on-chain activity on XLM’s price has been limited so far.
For users monitoring Stellar’s rapid institutional expansion and DEX activity shifts, tools like CryptoAppsy can offer valuable support. Its real-time charts and smart price alerts let investors quickly respond to changes in XLM’s performance and on-chain metrics, ensuring they stay ahead of volatility as network usage outpaces token valuation.
The network’s advancements in regulated assets and DeFi infrastructure have yet to generate a sustained upward trend for the native token, even as on-chain statistics remain elevated.
