Symbol, by NEM

Symbol, by NEM, is a blockchain platform designed specifically for businesses, offering a wide range of features and tools to facilitate secure and efficient transactions, data management, and asset tokenization. According to the vendor, Symbol aims to reduce friction in existing processes and provide a platform for new business models and innovation. It is targeted at small to large enterprises across various professions and industries, including financial institutions, supply chain and logistics companies, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and the gaming and gambling industry.

Key Features

Enhanced Security: Symbol comes with built-in security features, according to the vendor, to provide peace of mind. Its plugin contract framework is said to enhance resistance to human errors and network attacks.

Improved Interoperability: Symbol is designed to be interoperable, allowing seamless integration with existing enterprise systems, processes, and other networks and blockchains. The vendor claims that its APIs ensure smooth integration.

Faster and More Efficient: Symbol is said to offer unmatched speed and efficiency. Its tiered architecture and plugin solutions are claimed to enhance flexibility, accelerate processing and development time, and reduce costs.

Rich Development Platform: Symbol provides a feature-rich development platform that allows developers to focus on what matters most. According to the vendor, its enhanced security and interoperability features simplify the development process.

Powering Possibility in Enterprise: Symbol aims to reduce costs and complexities in organizations, according to the vendor. It is claimed to provide a competitive edge while restoring trust in the value chain.

Nodes and Tokenomics: Symbol allows users to run their own node and become part of the Symbol token ecosystem. The vendor states that the Symbol public chain is a self-sustaining economic ecosystem involving node operators, harvesters, investors, users, and the XYM token. Harvesters can earn rewards just by holding a token balance, and running nodes can potentially earn greater rewards.

XYM Supply and Inflation: XYM has a fixed maximum supply of 8,999,999,999 tokens. The vendor states that the initial supply was allocated to users based on XEM holding at Snapshot, and additional XYM tokens were created for inflationary rewards over time. The inflation rate is claimed to be closely mapped to that of bitcoin, extending out over the next 100 years.

Proof of Stake+: According to the vendor, Symbol's POS+ allows nodes to create blocks based on their XYM stakes. The more tokens held by a node operator, the higher the chances of creating the next block and earning harvesting rewards. POS+ is said to incentivize usage, competition for low fees, and other desirable behavior.

Nodes: Node operators play a crucial role in keeping the Symbol protocol robust and decentralized. The vendor states that node owners can earn rewards from transaction fees, inflationary rewards, bonuses, and a percentage of block rewards earned by delegated harvesters. Node operators have the flexibility to set up nodes locally or on cloud services, and detailed instructions on how to set up a node can be found in the developer documentation.

Block Rewards: Symbol's blocks are confirmed several times per minute, ensuring frequent rewards. According to the vendor, block rewards consist of inflation rewards and transaction fees. The chances of earning a block reward are based mainly on the operator's XYM stake and other factors like network activity. Both node operators and XYM wallet holders have the potential to earn block rewards.