Stellar ( $XLM) Eyes Rebound as Protocol 25 Unlocks ZK Power

Stellar (XLM) sits near $0.248 after a sharp monthly pullback that pushed the token back into a major demand zone between $0.22–$0.20. This region has triggered three powerful rallies in the past—32%, 53%, and 138%—making it a critical psychological and technical level. With X-Ray now entering the spotlight under Protocol 25, traders are watching closely to see whether renewed fundamentals can fuel another upside reaction.

Protocol 25: X-Ray Brings Zero-Knowledge to Stellar

Protocol 25 is one of Stellar’s most significant upgrades. It introduces X-Ray, a cryptographic toolkit designed to bring configurable privacy through zero-knowledge proofs while maintaining Stellar’s transparency model. Developers can now build privacy-enhanced applications without breaking compliance or altering the chain’s trust assumptions.

The upgrade introduces two key foundations:

BN254 Curve Support
Before Protocol 25, developers faced friction building ZK applications on Stellar. With bn254 precompiles—g1_add, g1_mul, and multi_pairing_check—Stellar now aligns with Ethereum-level ZK tooling and eliminates costly workarounds.

Poseidon & Poseidon2 Hashing
These ZK-optimized hashes enable faster proof generation, smoother off-chain integration, and better circuit performance. Anyone building Merkle trees, commitments, or complex ZK circuits now gains efficient primitives.

Stellar’s timeline is clear:
• Testnet vote: Jan 7, 2026
• Mainnet vote: Jan 22, 2026

Technical Outlook: XLM Must Defend $0.22

XLM broke a long-term descending trendline earlier this year before rejecting at $0.3 and sliding back into the $0.22 zone. This level is a historical launchpad:

Hold $0.22 → Move toward $0.31
Lose $0.22 → Drop toward $0.168
History says this region can ignite explosive reversals—if bulls defend it once again.