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Although less
famous than several of its peers, the NEM blockchain has been a common source
of expectations and advancement for the blockchain community over the last
several years. The reason you might hear about it less is simply its relatively
niche focus (the blockchain is geared towards the use and trade of smart
assets) rather than because of a lack of relevance.
Most recently, an
announcement of a second upcoming blockchain, called the Symbol blockchain, was
made by the NEM group. The plan is for this new blockchain to replace the
original NEM blockchain, and for all data in the old blockchain to migrate to
the new one.
Naturally, this
has raised many questions both among already existing users and people looking
into these projects for the first time.
Why is the NEM blockchain migrating into a new
one?
This is a
common, and expected question. We’re used to iterative software development.
Even in the blockchain world, many of the biggest names (Ethereum being the
largest example of this) iterate on their own blockchains, updating what’s
already there rather than creating something new. That way, the Ethereum blockchain is essentially the same today as it was several years ago, as long
as you don’t try to apply the logic behind the Ship of Theseus to it.
The NEM
blockchain has instead decided to migrate to a new one. The reason behind this
is that Symbol is more than just an update and more of a fully-fledged upgrade
on the NEM blockchain. It was created with the intention of righting some of
NEM’s wrongs and aiming towards offering a faster, more reliable, more
economical experience for business working in the blockchain.
As it turned
out, the best way to attain this was to fully rewrite the blockchain, making
sweeping protocol and design changes keeping in mind everything the coders had
learned since the release of NEM, along with how the market had changed.
What happens during this migration? Is the NEM
blockchain suddenly disappearing?
It would be a
terrible idea to go for a sudden, mandatory migration, particularly knowing how
these things tend to always have bugs or issues that need to be ironed out.
Thus, as is
common for this kind of moves, the NEM>Symbol migration won’t happen all at
once, and won’t be mandatory at first. It will come as a series of rollouts,
where users can opt-in for migration or choose to stay with NEM.
To allow for the
proper migration to happen, all cryptocurrency on the NEM blockchain,
specifically the XEM tokens, can now be converted into Symbol-based tokens,
known as XYM tokens. The migration process for users, then, consists on
converting their existing holdings in XEM into XYM tokens.
How is this conversion done? Will all tokens of a
type become the other?
Yes, and no.
Right now, the
conversion is optional and happens through the user’s own balance on the
official XEM blockchain and its wallets. The NEM wallet, specifically, received
an update a couple months ago to allow people to opt-in to the migration. Tokens
held anywhere outside the main blockchain and its wallets (for example, tokens
held in crypto exchanges) won’t migrate, except for a few exchanges (like
Binance) that have pledged to support the migration.
The process to
migrate, then, begins by moving your tokens to a NEM wallet. Once you have them
there, opting into the migration is as simple as using the opt-in module in
your crypto wallet.
Once you’re
opted-in, you just have to wait. A snapshot will be taken on January 14th
2021, where a record of all the XEM tokens in wallets that have opted in will
be made. The users who have opted in will receive that exact amount of XYM
tokens on the Symbol blockchain via an airdrop once the blockchain launches.
Users who don’t opt-in won’t receive XYM tokens.
All users will
retain their existing XEM tokens, and they can keep using the XEM blockchain
for the foreseeable future. The migration is, therefore, optional.
Why should I migrate?
First, there’s
the obvious one: While the NEM blockchain will keep working, the developers
intend for the Symbol blockchain to eventually take its place.
This little fact
brings several more reasons to opt in, the biggest one among them being that
the value of XEM tokens could drop after the snapshot and subsequent airdrop
happens - particularly if a large chunk of the NEM users decide to move to
Symbol.
There’s another,
practical reason: You don’t lose your XEM tokens during migration. Opting in
for migration, thus, simply gives you XYM tokens without taking anything from
you.
Do I need anything else to migrate, or is it only
opting in?
You’ll need to
have a balance of at least 100 XEM to be eligible for the opt-in and subsequent
airdrop. Accounts with lower balances will not receive any XYM tokens.
Other than that,
the process is just that simple. As long as you have 100 XEM in your wallet by
January 14th and you have opted in by January 9th, when
the opt-in cutoff happens, you should receive XYM tokens for free once the
blockchain launches.
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