Stellar

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How does the Stellar network compare to Bitcoin?

The main differences between the Stellar network and Bitcoin are the following:

• Stellar is based on a consensus algorithm rather than mining. This means transactions confirm in a few seconds.
• The supply of lumen increases at a fixed rate of 1% a year.
• Stellar aims to let you transact in your currency of choice (fiat or digital).

The hope is that the currency itself will be mostly a behind-the-scenes currency, and that the Stellar network will help provide more liquidity between currencies.

Do you have information about Stellar in other languages?

Community members have been translating information about Stellar into numerous languages. (Note: We are not 100% certain of the accuracy of these translations since we do not speak all of these languages):

• Portuguese by Mercado Bitcoin
• Russian Launch Post ( by Pavel Kravchenko), Mandate (by Vasily Bryantsev) and FAQs (by Sergey Yusupov)
• German Mandate by Yannic
• Ukrainian Mandate by Pavel Kravchenko

What are the fees for a transaction?

To prevent spam, each transaction burns 100 stroops (that is, 0.00001 lumens). This can result in what looks like an uneven balance in your Stellar account. The $USD value of 10 stroops as of January 2015 is approximately one two-hundred-thousandths of a penny.

Why is there a minimum balance?

Minimum balances help protect the network from the creation of spam accounts. You can fund an account by sending 20 lumens to it. Unfunded accounts cannot establish trust lines; each trust line requires a 5 lumen reserve in addition to the 20 lumen minimum balance. To establish trust lines with three anchors, a user must retain a 35 lumen balance in reserve, for example: min balance 20 lumens + (5 lumens * 3 anchors) = 35 lumen reserve.

How can I protect myself from phishing?

Read the articles on our Help Desk about phishing and account security. If you think you are being “phished,” please report the attempt to:

• Your email provider
• The appropriate social media platform
• Google’s Safe Browsing Project

You may also report phishing sites and emails to the Stellar Development Foundation by emailing phishing(at)stellar(dot)org.

What could I build on top of the Stellar protocol?

There are too many possibilities to name, so here are a few things that people are asking for the most:

• More anchors in more currencies
• Mobile and trading clients
• Tipbot
• Merchant plugin

Longer list of ideas can be found here.