Stellar Lumens (XLM) has surged 59.13% over the past week, reaching $0.5173 as of July 18, 2025, outperforming major altcoins like Ethereum (+7.48% to $3,600.63), Solana (+5.16% to $170.96), and XRP (+5% to $3.05), per Coindoo.com and TradingView. Veteran trader Peter Brandt highlights a monthly inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, signaling a potential breakout above the $1 resistance, a level that has capped rallies since 2018, per Coindoo.com. Analyst Solberg Invest notes XLM’s break above $0.43, targeting $0.60 short-term if momentum persists. Trading volume spiked 211.2% to $1.66 billion in 24 hours, with open interest up 3.4% to $270.9 million, reflecting bullish leverage, per Coinalyze and Coindoo.com.
Stellar’s surge aligns with key developments. PayPal’s planned integration of its PYUSD stablecoin on the Stellar network, pending NYDFS approval, boosts confidence in XLM’s cross-border payment utility, per CoinDesk. The Protocol 23 upgrade, introducing smart contracts and parallel transaction processing, enhances scalability, per bitcoinethereumnews.com. Stellar’s Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi hit $122.4 million, a record high, per DeFiLlama. Posts on X underscore XLM’s outperformance over ETH, SOL, and XRP, driven by a golden cross (50-day EMA crossing above 200-day EMA) and rising open interest. Stellar’s 1.4 million active addresses and 74 million transactions in 30 days outpace Ethereum, per cryptoofficiel.com.
Bitcoin’s rally aligns with a pro-crypto shift under Trump, who signed an executive order on January 23, 2025, to support digital assets and repeal Biden-era restrictions, per Pillsburylaw.com. The SEC has dropped lawsuits against firms like Coinbase, per The New York Times, easing regulatory pressures. X posts from @CryptoRank_io note a 36% rise in CME Bitcoin futures holders, signaling institutional confidence. However, critics like Senator Elizabeth Warren warn of risks if corporate BTC treasuries grow, per Politico, citing potential economic fallout from a crypto crash.
XLM’s rally coincides with a broader altcoin uptrend, fueled by Bitcoin’s recovery above $119,000 and Ethereum’s ETF inflows ($726 million daily). XRP’s correlation with XLM, driven by shared cross-border payment goals, supports its gains, with XRP up 2.43% to $2.95 amid Ripple’s SEC case optimism, per bitget.com. However, XLM’s lower market cap ($16.08 billion vs. XRP’s $32 billion) offers higher growth potential, per 99bitcoins.com. The GENIUS Act’s passage bolsters stablecoin adoption, indirectly benefiting Stellar’s PYUSD integration, per Coincu.
Bitcoin could target $150,000 by Q1 2026 if ETF inflows and Trump’s policies persist, per Standard Chartered’s $500,000 long-term forecast, though volatility remains a concern, per Al Jazeera. Investors should monitor BTC’s $120,000 resistance and $100,000 support, per CoinDesk, and track ETF flows via Farside Investors. Diversification is key to manage risks from regulatory shifts or market corrections. Trump’s lawsuit dismissal reinforces media freedom but leaves Bitcoin’s trajectory tied to institutional adoption and policy support, with no immediate legal impact on the Crypto Market.
