Here’s What NEM (XEM) Is And Why It’s Running Right Now

NEM (XEM) has jumped close to 15% in the last twenty-four hours. This is a coin that’s been hailed as having some real potential in the blockchain space over the last couple of years and it’s very much part of the old-guard of cryptocoins in the space. Until recently, however, XEM has failed to really catch fire but, over the last couple of months, this trend looks to be changing.

Right now, XEM goes for $0.43 a piece. As compares to the USD, this is an all-time high level. We say as compares to USD because back in June this year the coin logged higher levels than is currently the case as compares to BTC but, to keep things simple, we’re going to stick with the USD exchange right now as this is a much more accurate reflection of value from a market capitalization perspective.

NEM Daily Chart

So, at the start of this year, this one went for $0.003. At the start of November, it had risen to $0.17. As noted above, we’re now looking at $0.43 a coin. That’s an incredible run and it’s very much brought XEM into the crypto-spotlight as the year draws to a close

Anyway, let’s get to the point: is this run going to continue and – if so – what’s going to drive the further upside?

First up it’s worth jumping into the coin and the company behind so as anyone new to NEM can get an idea what it’s all about.

So, NEM is the name of a blockchain technology and it was developed (and is now maintained and advanced) by what’s called the NEM Foundation. The coin, XEM, is a token that’s used to pay transaction fees on the companies blockchain (more on this in a minute).

In some ways, it’s similar to Ethereum, in the sense that it’s designed to allow for so-called smart contracts to be executed and – in turn – to allow for a sort of autonomous operational model. It differs from Ethereum, however, in the sense that it’s a combination of centralized and decentralized solutions. This dramatically increases the integration options (and ease) for and with current enterprise systems.

To put this another way, if a company wants to adopt blockchain technology and incorporate smart contracts into its operations it can use Ethereum but, if it does, it’s basically got to completely rebuild its architecture. On the other hand, it can use NEM and essentially just plug its current architecture into a public blockchain. NEM also allows for private blockchain integration, so the company can build a private blockchain using NEM and then integrate this with its own systems on one side and the public chain on the other side, allowing for easy integration (and the security of a private chain) while also the verification and accountability that comes with a public chain.

The best way to think of this is probably as follows: if you want total decentralization, you’ve got to go with Ethereum. If you’re willing to accept a degree of centralization (NEM operates its own nodes), however, which it’s not unreasonable to suggest that the vast majority of enterprises will be, NEM is probably a smarter, simpler, cheaper, easier and more secure option.

So where does XEM come into this?

Well, a company can build its operational framework using the NEM technology and can set everything up using what the company calls Smart Assets (not that different from smart contracts). In order to execute on these Smart Asset functions, a small amount of XEM is required.

And how does this play into current and future value?

The more companies that use NEM to power their operations, the more XEM is going to be required as a fee settlement token and, in turn, the higher the price will go.

So, as blockchain technology becomes increasingly integral to future industry, we think XEM could be one of the real winners of the adoption wave. It’s still got some way to go, sure, but this just means that current prices might be incredibly low as compares to future capitalization.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Image courtesy of NEM.io