Base Reserve

Understanding Base Reserve

In the Stellar network, accounts are fundamental structures that hold balances, sign transactions, and issue assets. However, to maintain an account, a minimum balance of Lumens (XLM) known as the base reserve is required.

What is Base Reserve?

The base reserve is a unit of measurement used to calculate an account's minimum balance. Currently, one base reserve is equivalent to 0.5 XLM. This minimum balance ensures the integrity of the Stellar network by preventing the creation of an excessive number of accounts.

Impact of Subentries

Accounts store data in subentries, and each subentry increases the account's required minimum balance. Various operations such as creating trustlines, placing offers, adding signers, and storing data contribute to the number of subentries and consequently impact the account's base reserve requirement.

Managing Trustlines

Trustlines are essential for accounts to hold and trade specific assets other than Lumens (XLM). Establishing a trustline with the issuing account is necessary to hold a particular asset. Trustlines track asset balances and can limit the amount of an asset that an account can hold. It's important to note that trustlines also track liabilities, ensuring that an account maintains sufficient balances to fulfill its selling liabilities and remains below its buying liabilities.

Understanding the base reserve and its relationship with subentries is crucial for effectively managing Stellar accounts. By adhering to base reserve requirements and properly managing trustlines, users can ensure the smooth functioning of their accounts within the Stellar ecosystem.