What is NEM?
In this NEM review I will cover the blockchain and its native coin in detail. The NEM project’s main goal is to have a blockchain for every type of industry, government or academia. Right from the moments of inception, the blockchain has been developed with two things as a focus – scale and speed. The unique blockchain technology it possesses delivers industry leading transaction rates for internal ledgers. On top of that, the revolutionary consensus protocol and the Supernode program ensure the growth and stability of the network. The native coin to the blockchain is XEM and its current maximum and circulating suppy are the same – 8,999,999,999 XEMs (9 billion minus one).
Advantages
One of the main advantages of NEM is that it offers transparency. This means that transactions are traceable and there is buyer and seller protections at work. Some of the other benefits are:
- Energy efficient – any computational resource necessary for any action within the network is hundrets of times less intensive than running a node on a different network like Bitcoin
- Not subject to inflation – all of the coins were generated with the Genesis block, which leaves no opportunity for inflation to occur
Disadvantages
Of course, every network has its short comings and NEM is no different. One of the main disadvantages the network possesses is that it lacks the technology and flexibility of other networks like Ethereum. Some of the other notable deficiencies are:
- Bad marketing strategy – maybe the biggest flaw of them all
- Poor community – while it is active, they are not informed well and the reports for activity are lacking
History and Evolution
The NEM cryptocurrency was created back in 2015 on the 31st March. Its origins can be connected back to January 2014 and the whole code was written in Java instead of being a fork or a copy of an already existing blockchain. Lon Wong is the president of NEM Foundation, and its purpose is to promote the blockchain technology to every industry, government or academic facility in the world. The NEM blockchain is designed to be customizable and easily adopted into any field. The current development stage is in Q4 2018 status, which is development of the NEM Catapult Blockchain, or NEM 2.0. Its main focus is improvement of transaction speed and overall performance.
NEM’s Future
Unfortunately, there is no official road map for the NEM project as developers like to just give results without creating a roadmap for now. According to some of the analysts though, NEM can easily rise to the top 5 positions of the most valued cryptocurrencies in the near future. This is the reason why a lot of investors are looking out for this crypto coin and looking for opportunities. The team has announced that they will continue to work on a project for a private blockchain along with the Tech Bureau Corporation and finish their development of the blockchain engine code named Catapult.
NEM Blockchain
The NEM blockchain is a peer-to-peer decentralized network that uses an unique consensus mechanism called Proof of Importance (PoI). Unlike Bitcoin’s well-known Proof of Work consensus algorithm, PoI is environmentally friendly, and it does not require such large amounts of computing power or electricity. Proof of Importance is similar to Proof of Stake except that it is not solely affected by the size of the funds in the address. It takes under consideration other behaviours and attempts to reward active economy participants at the expense of inactive ones and lowers the “rich getting richer” bane that other networks experience. The network experiences a 60 second time lapse between blocks and a dynamic block size with no maximum limit.
NEM Nodes
Nodes are maybe the most important aspect of a blockchain network. They are what provide the security and stability a blockchain needs to operate. There are two different types of nodes in the NEM cryptocurrency network and they are Supernodes and Harvesters.
- Supernode – this is an address with at least 3 million XEM crypto coins and act as validators on the network. They are rewarded regularly from the NEM coin treasury set aside at the Genesis block stage when all the coins were issued.
- Harvesters are any user that holds at least 10,000 XEM coins. Harvesting in Proof of Importance based networks is similar to mining in Proof of Work networks. When a block is harvested, the Harvester who did it, receives the transactional fees that are inside the block as a reward.
NEM Additional Features
One of the main additional features that NEM offers is Namespaces and Mosaics. Namespaces are like unique named addresses that you can save for yourself where you can attach your assets. Mosaics are tokens that are used for fuelling that system.
How to get NEM
If you are completely new to NEM and don’t already hold at least 10,000 XEM coins, the only way to obtain them is via buying them from an Exchange. If you already have 10,000 XEM and would like to obtain more, you can harvest them as a Harvester node.
Where to Buy NEM
As mentioned, NEM coins can be bought from exchanges. It is common in the crypto world that not many exchange platforms offer fiat to crypto pairs, meaning buying the crypto coins with real life money. In the case of NEM, you will have to obtain other crypto coins like BTC and then use them to exchange into XEM coins. Due to the increase in popularity and interest from investors it is a great idea to start trading and harvesting NEM coins for a profit. Especially when you are in it for the long run, there is no doubt that you can make some additional funds with XEM cryptocurrency.
| Exchange | Cryptocurrencies | Fiat Money | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
binance
|
Bitcoin+ 2 more | – | Trade now |
|
hitbtc
|
Bitcoin+ 3 more | – | Trade now |
|
Exrates
|
Bitcoin | USD | Trade now |
Wallets for NEM
No matter what you choose to do with XEM coins, you will need a wallet to hold them in. Wallets are software programs that are used for holding two keys – private and public key. The private key is used to access your funds on the blockchain, while the public key is used only for receiving funds. The NEM coin has three official wallets that are endorsed by the development team. The first is the Desktop client called Nano Wallet, which is compatible with most OS systems like Windows, Linux and OSx. The other two are the NEM Node which is used if you would like to run a Supernode or Harvester and the Mobile Wallet for all the users that value functionality and crontrol on the go from a mobile device. You can find and download them on the official NEM webside under the Downloads section. Please make sure that after you have installed them to make a backup. It adds another layer of security to your funds and who can say no to that? You can find a thorough guide for backing up your wallet here.
- Windows installation: – Windows OS Guide
- Linux: – Linux OS Guide
Alternative Wallets
Another option is to use alternative wallets. What are they, you ask? They are wallets that are developed and overseen by 3rd parties, which are most likely companies with experience in the sector. Alternative wallets bring a wide array of features that can suit the taste of almost any user like a different user interface, direct connection to an exchange or even supporting multiple types of cryptocurrencies.
Web Wallets
Mobile Wallets
NEM Security / Network Security
Currently there are no major issues with the security of the NEM network. The blockchain has Multisig implemented in it which really makes the network malicious proof. The issues stand not with NEM itself, but with exchanges that can trade NEM coins. There have been reports of hacking attempts on these exchanges. While not something out of the ordinary, as these platforms are exposed to a large surplus of users and transactions, you should always double check and take into consideration any transaction you make.
News and Useful Links
If you would like to be a part of the NEM community and stay up to date with all news related to it, the best place you can start is with the official website, announcement page, roadmap and twitter account @NEMofficial.