Originally planned for a March 15 launch, the Symbol platform is finally on mainnet following almost four years of development.
The proof-of-stake enterprise grade blockchain enables the creation of specialized crypto assets with configurable properties that can act as security tokens. It is an evolution of the original NEM blockchain which was launched in March 2015.
NEM Group CEO, David Shaw stated:
“Symbol Mainnet officially went live on 17 March 2021 – a date which marks the beginning of the next chapter in NEM’s exciting story. Symbol will sit alongside NEM NIS1, making NEM officially a two chain ecosystem.”
The launch was delayed due to a network configuration issue that caused unexpected node behavior according to a forum post on the incident.
Symbol will allow any asset from real estate to intellectual property to commodities or stocks to be tokenized as a regulated security token. The announcement elaborated:
“The platform enables the creation of specialized digital assets, with configurable properties and a unique identifier, and can enforce logic-based account or asset-based restrictions at a protocol level.”
A feature called ‘mosaics’ will permit the creation of these specialized assets that can represent shares of any other asset that is tokenized. According to the announcement, each mosaic has configurable properties and a unique identifier.
On March 12, NEM took a snapshot of its own blockchain in order to airdrop Symbol’s native XYM tokens to NEM holders. XEM holders will get an XYM balance equal to that of their XEM holdings at the time of the snapshot.
The XYM token will be used to pay for transactions in order to incentivize the network of public nodes that process and record transactions. The airdrop has already been supported by a number of major exchanges including Binance, Bittrex, Poloniex, HitBTC, and KuCoin, though few have yet to list it.
NEM’s native token surged to a three-year high of $0.86 before the airdrop but has since retreated to current levels around $0.40. The crypto stalwart has performed well during the current bull market, doubling in price since the beginning of the year. XEM is up over 1,100% since the same time last year.
XYM has yet to be listed on any major exchanges but it was trading around the $0.50 mark according to the XRP based Bitrue exchange.