XRP rival soars 9% in a day

While the popular $XRP token has been struggling after hitting its 2026 high above $2.41 on January 6, its main rival – Stellar ($XLM) – has had a veritable resurgence in the 24 hours between January 13 and 14.

In the 24-hour chart, $XLM is up 8.99% and is changing hands at $0.244. For comparison, $XRP is 0.71% in the red within the same time frame and is changing hands at $2.15 at press time on January 14.

The rally appears to have come as part of a broader altcoin surge following Bitcoin’s (BTC) late Tuesday rise above $95,000, though it had been bolstered by $XLM-specific developments such as Visa’s (NYSE: V) integration of Stellar earlier in January.

Still, despite its latest upsurge, Stellar is below the $0.28 2026 high it achieved on January 6 and remains in the red in longer timeframes. For example, $XLM is down 48.33% from where it was six months ago, 41.86% below its value one year ago. It is, however, up 20.56% in 2026.

What is next for $XLM price in 2026?

Elsewhere, Stellar’s technicals show there is substantial uncertainty about where the token might go next. At press time, $XLM is trading approximately 5% above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) but nearly 24% below the 200-day SMA.

Stellar’s relative strength index (RSI) of 55.58 shows that the cryptocurrency is neither particularly overbought nor oversold.

Ultimately, $XLM’s next target price is likely to depend on the broader crypto market, with at least a moderate correction appearing likely given $XRP’s recent performance, and Bitcoin’s latest surge toward $96,000 and subsequent retracement to $95,000.

In stark contrast to short-term uncertainty – yet, arguably, in line with early 2026 optimism – Stellar is in an exceptionally strong position long-term.

The cryptocurrency has successfully carved a niche for itself in cross-border payments with partnerships with firms such as MoneyGram, IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Mastercard (NYSE: MA). Stellar also received long-term tailwinds from the fund manager WisdomTree, as it had decided to use the digital asset’s network for its digital fund listings back in September 2025.

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