• Stellar (XLM) will activate the testnet for Protocol 20, its latest network upgrade, on September 20 at 15:00 UTC.
• The upgrade will introduce the Soroban smart contracts on mainnet.
• XLM price was largely muted around $0.11.

Stellar is preparing for its biggest network upgrade – the upcoming Protocol 20 upgrade – which will introduce Soroban smart contracts to the mainnet. The upgrade will benefit developers and businesses building on Stellar, according to an announcement published on Monday.

Prepare for #Stellar’s Protocol 20 upgrade! It’s the biggest one yet, introducing Soroban smart contracts.

Things to know:
1. Testnet upgrade on Sep 20, 1500 UTC
2. Update Stellar-related software
3. Stay updated in the (#protocol-20) discord channel
4. Go here for more info…

— Stellar (@StellarOrg) September 18, 2023

Introducing Soroban smart contracts

Soroban is a developer-friendly, Rust-based smart contracts platform designed to integrate with the Stellar blockchain.

“It’s by far the biggest, most complex protocol upgrade to date, and so while the basic instructions to prepare are the same as ever — install up-to-date versions of any Stellar-related software you use! — the process will take a few extra steps and play out a bit slower than usual,” Justin Rice, VP of Ecosystem at the Stellar Development Foundation said in a blog post

Per the Stellar exec, the testnet will roll out on Wednesday, September 20 at 15:00 UTC. Testnet nodes will have to install the latest versions of the Stellar Core and Horizon.

Once the stable release is out, Stellar expects mainnet validators to schedule an upgrade vote determining the potential date for the public network upgrade. The vote date will be for six weeks after the stable releases.

“Because the Protocol 20 upgrade introduces new network settings that validators control, it is also likely that the initial upgrade vote will be followed by a series of additional votes to adjust those settings,” Rice added.

XLM price outlook

The price of XLM, native Stellar token, was hovering at $0.11 – just in the green in the past 24 hours.

However, XLM/USD was down 7.5% in the past week and was struggling for upside momentum following recent declines from highs of $0.13.  The upswing and subsequent losses followed Stellar’s teasing of a major development that turned to be a “buy the rumour, sell the news,” scenario.

This means XLM is poised near the key support level of $0.10, below which sellers could target $0.09 and then $0.07. On the upside, resistance is likely at year-to-date highs around $0.16.