- Stellar’s Testnet upgraded to Protocol 21, enhancing smart contract functionality.
- Key dates: Stable releases on May 30, Testnet reset on June 11, Mainnet vote on June 18.
- XLM’s price at $0.103, despite a 1.27% drop, with long-term growth prospects expected.
The Stellar blockchain has upgraded its Testnet to Protocol 21, marking a step towards enhancing its smart contract capabilities. This update, announced on Stellar’s official X account, is a milestone in the blockchain’s roadmap. The upgrade aims to align Stellar with other prominent layer-1 protocols that offer full smart contract functionality.
Key Dates and Future Steps
Stellar has outlined several important dates following the Testnet upgrade. On May 30, the blockchain will implement the Stable releases of Stellar Core, Horizon, and RPC, essential components for supporting Protocol 21.
A Testnet reset is scheduled for June 11 to ensure all changes and additions function optimally. The final critical date is June 18, when a Mainnet upgrade vote will take place. This vote will be crucial in determining the future direction of the Stellar network.
Network update: the Stellar Testnet has been upgraded to Protocol 21. Here's what comes next:
— Stellar (@StellarOrg) May 14, 2024
▪️ May 30: Stable releases of Stellar Core, Horizon, RPC
▪️ June 11: Testnet reset
▪️ June 18: Mainnet upgrade vote
Check the Protocol 21 Upgrade Guide for the most up-to-date…
Potential Long-term Benefits for XLM
The smart contract functionality that will be introduced by Protocol 21 is expected to be the major advantage of XLM, the native asset of Stellar. Even though XLM is now trading at $0.103, a 1. 27% decrease in the past 24 hours, the long-term prospects are still good as the network is getting bigger and is adding new features.
Stellar’s choice to enhance its protocol with smart contracts is a part of the bigger trend that is going on in the blockchain networks. The same improvements have been observed in Filecoin, EOS, and Chainlink which have all integrated the smart contract capability to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem.
