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Stellar's Asset Boom Ignores Its Own Coin
12 Oct
Summary
- Stellar hosts $3.5B in tokenized assets, yet XLM's market cap is far lower than XRP's.
- Tokenized funds on Stellar invest in Treasuries, not XLM, disconnecting network growth.
- XRP benefits from ETF and corporate buyers, driving direct coin demand lacking for XLM.
Stellar currently leads all blockchains in hosting tokenized real-world assets, with a total value of $3.5 billion. This places it ahead of the XRP Ledger, which manages $2.5 billion in such assets. However, this impressive volume has not translated into demand for Stellar's native cryptocurrency, XLM. As of October 11, 2026, XLM's market capitalization stands at $6.85 billion, while XRP boasts a market capitalization of $88 billion, making XRP approximately 12.8 times more valuable than XLM.
The disparity arises from how these tokenized assets function on each network. Stellar's tokenized funds, including those from Franklin Templeton, primarily invest in U.S. Treasuries and use stablecoins for transactions. Crucially, new investments into these funds do not necessitate the purchase of XLM, creating a disconnect between network asset value and demand for the coin itself. Transaction fees on Stellar, paid in XLM, are also minor.
In contrast, XRP benefits from significant institutional backing. Spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hold $1.57 billion in assets, and corporations like Evernorth have acquired substantial amounts of XRP. This direct demand, driven by ETFs and treasury buyers, forces the acquisition of XRP, a dynamic that Stellar's ecosystem currently lacks. Without similar institutional drivers or a shift in its tokenization model, Stellar's leading asset value may not close the valuation gap with XRP.
