Stellar’s [XLM] next upgrade just cleared its testnet vote. Validators will decide on the mainnet version in a couple of weeks.

Hence, the question – Has the token’s price moved in lockstep?

Stellar’s Bell upgrade passes testnet

Bell (also known as Protocol 30), cleared its testnet vote on 3rd November. Validators will vote on the mainnet version on the 23rd.

According to the Stellar Development Foundation, Bell would bring three changes. The first will involve letting smart contract tell payments for different customers apart. This would make life immensely easier for businesses.

The second change will allow smart contracts check post-quantum signatures as the network’s own signatures would stay the same. The last would switch ledger timing to milliseconds. Here, it’s worth noting that they’ve admitted that this change along won’t make blocks faster.

Also, 23rd is not the final launch date. In fact, Bell only goes live if validators approve it, with the Foundation clarifying that the date could still move.

In the meantime, wallets, exchanges and node operators need to update their software.

XLM crypto falls ahead of the vote

Ideally, an upgrade would put the price up on its shoulders. Not this one though.

XLM went up to about $0.171 on the 4th, then came tumbling down the next afternoon. It’s been stuck between $0.153 and $0.157 since. At press time, it was valued at around $0.155.

Indicators seemed to be indecisive. The RSI was at 45.2, under the Signal Line. The ADX on the DMI was at around 18.5. What did this indicate? Well, there didn’t seem to be a strong trend either way, though sellers were just slightly ahead.

Futures traders have mostly taken a few steps back too. Open interest dropped from about $94 million to $88 million during the slide and at the time of writing, it was $89.5 million. Funding was barely positive at 0.0011% too.

Simply put, it may be evident that everyone’s playing it safe. No one’s betting big before the big 23rd November vote. For now, $0.16 is the level to watch.

Final Summary

• Stellar’s Bell upgrade passed the testnet vote.
• Validators are set to make a mainnet decision on the 23rd.