Stellar’s native token XLM has signaled a key technical event that’s caught the attention of seasoned traders. On the short-term chart, the 50-period moving average has fallen below the 200-period moving average, forming a so-called death cross in the two-hour timeframe. Now, all eyes are on which direction XLM’s price will take following this technical setup.
Momentum stalls after price surge
This critical shift emerged just after XLM’s sharp rally at the end of May. The token had soared by 103 percent, fueled by news that the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) was planning to expand its operations on the Stellar blockchain. DTCC plays a pivotal role in Wall Street’s post-trade infrastructure, adding weight to such developments.
The two-hour chart confirms the short-term death cross for XLM as the 50-period moving average dropped below the 200-period moving average.
Still, the enthusiasm was short-lived. After briefly spiking to $0.297 on May 30, XLM rapidly pulled back, facing growing selling pressure on intraday charts. At the time of reporting, the token had tumbled 6 percent in 24 hours, trading near $0.184, while its weekly loss reached a steep 18 percent. The broader cryptocurrency market’s weakness ahead of key economic data also played a role in XLM’s downward move.
Key support and resistance levels in focus
As a result of the decline, Stellar breached below the 200-day moving average around $0.188 on the daily chart. The next crucial threshold, from a technical perspective, is the 50-day moving average. Failure to hold this level could push XLM back toward the lower end of its current trading range.
Conversely, a sustained recovery above $0.188 could open the door for a move to test the $0.21 zone. Should that hurdle be cleared, attention may shift to the $0.27 to $0.29 region as potential upside targets.
Protocol 27 upgrade timeline revealed
Stellar’s core developer team has also shared an updated timeline for the highly anticipated Protocol 27 network upgrade. The new stable release of Stellar Core went live on June 5. RPC and Galexie releases are expected on June 10, while SDK updates are scheduled between June 5 and 11. The Horizon update is set for June 12. The testnet upgrade is planned for June 18, followed by the mainnet upgrade vote on July 8.
One highlight of this update is delegated identity authorization for special accounts. Known as CAP-0071-01, this feature enables smart contract-based accounts to delegate identity verification logic to other addresses, providing more flexibility in security and authorization.
Mini glossary: Delegated identity authorization is a technical mechanism allowing an account to transfer approval privileges for transactions to another address under defined rules. It aims to enable more flexible security and authorization scenarios, especially for smart contract accounts.
Quantum security on the horizon
In addition, developers introduced the “Quantum Preparedness Plan” for Stellar. The project’s aim is to transition the network toward quantum-resistant cryptography. According to the roadmap, by the end of 2027, every Stellar account will be able to add a quantum-safe signer to their address history via a protocol-level upgrade.
Enterprise wallets are expected to migrate to quantum-secure signing via Soroban contract accounts during 2026. This timeline reflects a crowded agenda for Stellar in terms of both technical innovations and long-term cybersecurity planning.
