• Stellar saw marked growth in important network metrics in 2022. 
• The blockchain network’s plans for 2023 could see XLM emerge stronger from the crypto market winter. 

The Stellar blockchain recorded remarkable growth metrics in 2022. Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), highlighted some of these notable metrics in a new report.

Per the report, in 2022, the Stellar network saw a 73% increase in total assets and a 17% growth in total accounts — reaching over 7 million accounts. It also recorded 92% operations processed increase and a 176% increase in total payments.

Even more bullish is the growth of “relevant assets transactions”—Stellar-based assets tethered to real financial instruments. The network observed a 1.9x increase in daily transaction volume of these assets since the start of 2022. Dixon said in the report:

“This growth has been astronomical and heartening because it’s proof that people are using Stellar to power real-world utility, innovation, and financial inclusion across the globe.”

Aside from the bullish growth metrics, the Stellar blockchain also made significant progress in development and ecosystem expansion. The network saw the testnet launch of Soroban, its smart-contracts standard.

The new innovative capability will bring even more use cases to Stellar. These include truly community-owned savings banks, and community crowdfunding and ownership for micro public project works. It will also bring tools that bring financial access to people.

Similarly, Stellar also secured multiple partnerships in 2022. In June, it rolled out MoneyGram Access in partnership with MoneyGram. MoneyGram Access is a first-of-its-kind global on/off-ramp service for digital wallets. The service is helping digital wallets create more utility for crypto by bridging between cash and cryptocurrencies.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) ready to explode in 2023?

Meanwhile, the growth of the Stellar ecosystem has not reflected bullishly in the price of its native token Stellar Lumens (XLM). According to Dixon, this is partly due to the massive crypto winter the entire industry is experiencing in 2022.

However, the Blockchain still has a series of bullish developments lined up to happen in 2023 that could drive the price of XLM to new highs. These will focus on network scalability and innovation, activating more participation, and promoting diversity and inclusion.

One item that is already on the roadmap for 2023 is the mainnet launch of Soroban. Meanwhile, Denelle Dixon has explained that more details of Stellar’s 2023 roadmap will be revealed in its upcoming quarterly webinar.

“We’re always thinking of ways to adapt with the ever-shifting landscape of blockchain, crypto, financial services, and fintech,” she surmised.

At the time of this report, Stellar (XLM) which was trading at around $0.072, is down 3.32 percent in the last 24 hours. This is a 73.2 percent price drop in the year-to-date (YTD) chart and a 92.3 percent markdown from all-time high (ATH).

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