Stellar, an open-source blockchain platform focused on facilitating global payments and asset transfers, has reached a new milestone in transaction processing. On October 23, the network handled 14.16 million transactions in a single day, marking its most active day in the past month, according to analytics firm Chainspect.
Transaction throughput and fees
Throughout October 23, Stellar achieved an average processing speed of 163.9 transactions per second (TPS). The elevated activity continued into October 24, with throughput peaking at certain moments during the day and reaching 224.6 TPS.
Unlike several other major blockchain networks that experience congestion and rising transaction costs during periods of heavy use, Stellar maintained stable and minimal fees. The average transaction cost remained at $0.00012 per transfer even during high-load periods.
Even with transaction volumes surging to unprecedented levels, Stellar’s average fee held steady at $0.00012, underscoring the network’s capacity to handle increased demand without impacting user costs.
Earlier in the month, the network saw a similar activity spike on October 11, when it processed 12 million transactions at an average rate of 139 TPS, yet fees stayed consistently low.
Network upgrades boost performance
The surge in traffic is linked to improvements from recent network upgrades. In September, the rollout of Protocol 28, known as “Adapter,” included significant enhancements to handling throughput. This upgrade enabled Stellar to reach a record 217.4 TPS across a 100-block window on September 26.
Further optimization continued with the integration of Chainlink price feeds on October 14. Chainlink provides decentralized oracles for real-time price data, enhancing the reliability and flexibility of financial applications built on Stellar.
Mini dictionary: Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network, delivers secure and reliable real-world data to smart contracts on blockchain platforms, enabling automated execution based on external events such as price changes.
The platform is now gearing up for its next upgrade, Protocol 30 (“Bell”), which will be put to a community vote in the coming days.
Growth in stablecoins and tokenized assets
October’s transaction surge was driven by increased activity in stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). In the third quarter of 2025, the total financial transaction volume on Stellar climbed to $33.2 billion, marking a 71% increase from the previous quarter.
| Asset type | Q3 2025 Volume | Quarter-over-Quarter Change | Year-over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall transactions | $33.2 billion | +71% | – |
| Stablecoins | $25.1 billion | +121% | +314% |
| RWAs | $4.1 billion | – | – |
The stablecoin sector saw transfers totaling $25.1 billion in Q3, up 121% from the previous quarter and representing a 314% jump year over year. Performant new entries, such as the USDT0 asset, contributed to this growth by reaching $200 million in turnover within ten weeks of launch.
Simultaneously, the volume of tokenized RWAs on Stellar reached $4.1 billion. A significant development was the execution of the first institutional repurchase agreement with automatic rollover backed by U.S. Treasuries, using USDM1 tokens.
Mini dictionary: Real-world assets (RWAs) refer to tangible or financial assets such as government bonds, real estate, or commodities that are tokenized and represented on a blockchain, enabling their exchange and management without traditional intermediaries.
Developer ecosystem and reliability
Stellar has advanced to second place worldwide among L1 blockchain networks based on the number of active developers, boasting close to four thousand contributors focused on infrastructure and ecosystem growth.
The platform’s operational stability remains high, with 99.99% uptime reported even as new users arrive in significant numbers. Stellar’s user base has surpassed 11 million accounts, reflecting expanding adoption and the network’s ability to remain resilient and cost-effective as a payment solution for large and regulated capital flows.
With 99.99% uptime and over 11 million accounts, Stellar demonstrates readiness to serve as a reliable payment infrastructure for institutional and regulated finance.
