Since last July, the cryptocurrency of the NEM Foundation, XEM, has been several times in the top weekly of CriptoNoticias. In the course of this 2020, the cryptocurrency has reached a level of appreciation that exceeds 300%. This growth seems to have a connection with the progress of one of the projects conducted by NEM: the Symbol platform.
According to the NEM Foundation, Symbol Network is an update of the NEM or NEM 2.0 blockchain, a new network aimed at the institutional sector. It will serve businesses of all sizes, from one-man operations to those run by large corporations.
The platform will provide support in data management, logistics, notarization, construction, finance, and asset management. “What NEM intends is to reduce operating costs while providing new ways to create value,” read some writings. The goal is for companies to design blockchains, private, open, or hybrid, with different levels of interaction, configuring an asset tokenization system. Symbol is scheduled to launch on December 17 of this year, although it may be delayed up to 3 more months depending on testing.
NEM co-founder Jeff McDonald stated that building Symbol has applied all the learning that comes from running version 1 of the NEM blockchain, for over four years.”Symbol is a more functional, scalable, and feature-rich protocol that has the potential and eventually will become the core engine of NEM, powering private and public blockchains,” said Jeff, who sees three other blockchain projects as competitors: Hyperledger, Ethereum, and Libra from Facebook (the latter in plans).
Origin of NEM Symbol: Catapult project
The idea of creating Symbol came from a re-construction process that took part and began in 2019. To carry out the reorganization, the Foundation received the approval of the NEM community, with the financing of 160 million XEM (USD 19 million at the current exchange rate).
The restructuring focused on Catapult, “a development platform for industries interested in adopting and building applications on NEM.”The testing of the beta version of the Mijin v.2 (or Catapult) blockchain engine began in 2018. With this platform, NEM promised, in addition to speed and scalability improvements, “uses that have never been available on any blockchain.”
Mijin v.2 is the improved version of Mijin v.1, released in 2015 when creating NEM. The first version sought to satisfy business needs with a private blockchain, while the second version sought to reduce operational costs and make it easier to create utility tokens for companies.
In March 2020 it was considered to change the name of Catapult, adopting the brand “Symbol for NEM”. The proposal was supported by the community alongside the XYM denomination for NEM Symbol tokens. The change involved technical rearrangements to adapt the project to the technological development that occurred since the creation of Catapult.
NEM is getting ready to exchange XEM for Symbol XYM tokens
News about Symbol’s advances has been circling since 2019 and has risen since January 2020, when the testnet was launched. In April, NEM laid out its new governance plans in preparation for launch. Since then, he has been carrying out an intense information campaign aimed at his community.
The most recent announcement is the activation of Opt-in for Symbol on September 15th. This is the method for XEM holders, interested in participating in the new platform to claim their Symbol XYM tokens, which will be used as peer-to-peer cash and for transactions.
The allocation will be made taking into account the balance in XEM of the users, according to the capture of the network accounting on the scheduled date. It solely depends on the amount. An equivalent amount of XYM will be allocated to the subscribers’ portfolios. Non-subscribers will be able to claim their XYM within 6 years from the launch date.
By: Jenson Nuñez.
