XLM transactions are fast, cheap, and energy-efficient, as they are confirmed in seconds and cost a fraction of a cent, while consuming much less electricity than proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin.XLM are not mined or awarded by the protocol but were created when the network went live in 2014. The initial supply was 100 billion XLM, but it was reduced to 50 billion XLM in 2019 by community vote. No more XLM will be created.