Stellar ($XLM) Surges 72% as PayPal Integrates PYUSD

Stellar ($XLM) has experienced a significant surge in value, with its price increasing by 72% over the course of three weeks. This remarkable growth can be attributed to PayPal's decision to integrate its stablecoin, PYUSD, onto the Stellar network. This move has not only driven demand for $XLM but also positioned Stellar as a leading contender for institutional adoption.

The Stellar network has seen a substantial increase in real-world assets, now hosting over $528 million. This marks the network's biggest month ever in terms of on-chain activity and total value locked (TVL). The TVL reached an unprecedented $140.7 million in July 2025, driven by the accelerating growth of native DeFi liquidity. Network activity mirrored this expansion, with Artemis Analytics reporting 2.1 million daily transactions and 8.7 million processed operations. The number of weekly unique active addresses also increased to 266,800, representing a 37% monthly rise. Independent data from Token Terminal confirmed this trajectory, showing weekly active wallets consistently surpassing 240,000.

Institutional adoption has also increased significantly. PayPal's partnership with Stellar for the integration of its PYUSD stablecoin has been a major catalyst for this growth. PayPal’s blockchain chief, Ian Burrill, explained that the decision would leverage Stellar’s high-speed, low-cost infrastructure to transform global remittances and enterprise payments. This move has solidified Stellar’s position as a premier blockchain for asset-backed tokens, with the network processing over $17 billion in on-chain volume while maintaining $450 million in tokenized real-world assets (RWA).

Concurrent infrastructure upgrades seek to achieve 5,000 transactions per second (TPS) and reduce ledger close times to just 2.5 seconds through enhancements to the Soroban smart contract platform. These technical advancements coincided with Stellar’s strong 72% price appreciation during the month. The ecosystem is also preparing for a transformative shift. The Stellar Foundation has scheduled its first on-chain governance vote for August 14, 2025, which is vital as a fundamental move toward decentralized, community-led protocol development.

Despite the bullish momentum, $XLM/USDT faces a key resistance level at $0.4750-$0.48. The price has been in a firm upward trend, climbing from the $0.36 region on July 12 to trade near $0.4647 as of July 15. This rally broke through several previous resistance zones, particularly around $0.44, which has now become an important support level. The market appears to be absorbing selling pressure while maintaining structural integrity. At 11:00 UTC, a candle showed a -13.03K delta (159.91K buys vs 172.94K sells), yet the price held firmly above $0.45. This repeated pattern demonstrates consistent buyer support despite aggressive selling activity.

Investors should watch how the price reacts at the $0.4750-$0.48 resistance and $0.44 support levels, as these will be key to anticipating the next major move. A volume-backed breakout above the $0.4750-$0.48 resistance zone could initiate a move toward $0.50 and potentially higher levels. Key support remains at $0.44, where sustained buying interest has preserved the bullish structure. The footprint chart reveals that buyers consistently absorb heavy sell flows, confirming the underlying strength in this uptrend.