thecryptobasic.com 
Despite Stellar’s recent surge, $XRP community figure Chad Steingraber believes $XLM still has a long way to go before matching $XRP’s size.
In a recent post on X, Steingraber argued that $XLM would need to rise roughly 10x from current levels to reach $XRP’s market capitalization.
His comments come as $XLM continues to outperform $XRP in recent weeks. The rally follows growing excitement surrounding Stellar’s new alliance with the DTCC.
Key Points
- $XLM would need to rise about 10x from current levels to match $XRP’s $80.6 billion market capitalization.
- Stellar’s recent rally follows growing excitement surrounding its upcoming DTCC-related rollout.
- Steingraber argues the surge reflects anticipation rather than actual utility-driven demand for $XLM.
- Despite strong gains, $XLM remains far smaller than $XRP and would need to approach $2.50 to catch up.
$XLM Rally Outpaces $XRP
According to CoinMarketCap data, $XLM is trading at $0.2539. The token is up 8.3% over the past 24 hours and 65% over the past week. Its market capitalization now stands at approximately $8.52 billion.
Meanwhile, $XRP is trading at $1.30. It is down 2.5% on the day and 4.5% over the past seven days. $XRP’s market capitalization is roughly $80.6 billion.
The gap between the two networks helps explain Steingraber’s estimate. $XRP’s valuation is nearly 10 times larger than $XLM’s. As a result, Stellar would need to approach the $2.50 price level to achieve a similar market cap.
DTCC Launch Fuels Speculation
Steingraber believes the current rally is being driven mainly by speculation ahead of Stellar’s upcoming DTCC-related rollout, rather than actual network utility.
According to him, $XLM’s price could continue climbing throughout June as traders position themselves ahead of the launch.
“This is just the retail speculation phase of $XLM, not the actual utility of $XLM in DTCC.”
He added that trading activity tied to the initiative will initially be limited. As a result, utility-driven demand is likely to build gradually over the following months.
Utility Growth May Take Longer
Steingraber noted that the full impact of the DTCC integration may not be visible immediately after launch.
He expects utility adoption to expand steadily through the rest of 2026. Broader production use is currently set for October. He also pointed to a Stellar timeline that targets the first half of 2027 for the initiative to reach full scale.
Because of this, he believes the market is currently pricing in future expectations rather than realized usage.
$XLM Turns Positive While $XRP Struggles
Meanwhile, the performance gap between the two assets has become increasingly noticeable.
$XLM’s year-to-date gains have climbed to about 25%. In contrast, $XRP remains down roughly 30% over the same period.
The divergence has sparked debate among traders. Many are watching to see whether $XRP could eventually catch up to $XLM’s momentum, as both assets have a historical price correlation.
For now, Steingraber maintains that even after its recent surge, $XLM remains far smaller than $XRP. To catch up, $XLM would need to climb toward $2.50 before the two networks could command similar market valuations.
