Will Stellar be the ICO system of choice in 2018?

Stellar Lumens' 2018 roadmap paints a picture of a growing global network, and makes a compelling pitch for ICOs.

OPINION: Stellar Lumens dropped its 2018 roadmap on 25 January 2018. If there's one clear highlight, it's the following sentence.

Our internal projections, based on the most recent data, estimate that by quarter’s end all mankind will stride up to Stellar, take a wide stance, and ask us what we think about RaiBlocks."

A second highlight is the goal of creating a much wider Stellar ecosystem over the next year, through increased support for ICOs and other improvements.

An ecosystem

The roadmap highlighted two main goals:

• Stellar Decentralised Exchange (SDEX) upgrades, plus better technical documentation, implementation walkthroughs and general brand communication.
• Lightning network implementation, plus improved node reliability and self-sufficiency, and decreased overhead, to help further decentralise the network.

SDEX

"In 2018, we will put significant energy into bringing a wider variety of financial instruments on to the network. SDEX will be the exchange of first resort for all Stellar tokens, and we foresee a future where, say, carbon credits, oil futures, and the latest digital asset are all traded together—cheaply and quickly."

This will be a big deal if it comes to fruition. According to the roadmap, the SDEX will be able to offer Day One trading for any Stellar ICO token.

Getting a listing on a major exchange on day one is a competitive advantage for a new coin. That kind of listing on a fiat exchange like the SDEX could also promote unusually quick uptake of a new coin post-ICO. It means potential buyers don't necessarily have to part with other crypto assets to buy in, and that cryptocurrency newcomers can also get involved right away.

Other SDEX improvements promised in the roadmap include:

• Atomic pathfinding to discover the cheapest rates between any two assets
• Very low trading fees
• End-user control of secret keys
• More and better anchors and market makers

"The Exchange also promotes our vision of moving more real-world assets on the blockchain. ICOs are already coming to Stellar because we’re cheap, scalable, and fast."

Speaking of cheap, scalable and fast...

Lightning network

We’ve noted the market demand for more private channel transactions on Stellar, and we will integrate Lightning in 2018... Lightning will have a huge positive effect on Stellar’s long-term scalability and security."

Stellar has already taken concrete steps towards the implementation of Lightning sometime in 2018, in the form of a collaboration with Stellar advisor and bitcoin developer Jeremy Rubin.

Sticking Lightning inside Stellar's already-snappy-compared-to-many network might solve potential scaling problems for the foreseeable future.

The introduction of private transaction channels may also be especially significant in line with the stated goals of the SDEX (trading of a wide variety of financial instruments).

The Stellar roadmap outlines distinct benefits for ICOs, a focus on scaling and ground-up integration of a high quality decentralised exchange. To some, this roadmap might suggest that Stellar is aiming to become one of the world's key future networks.

Stellar Lumens 101: How it works and how to buy.

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