NEM Group Commences First Phase of Migration Process to Symbol Platform

Connecting business, blockchain developers, and consumers, users can now opt in Symbol to experience lower transaction fees, flexibility, instant finality and enhanced security at mainnet launch

NEM Group announced that it has begun the opt-in process to Symbol, its next-generation enterprise-grade blockchain solution. Opt-in represents the first step of the migration process from NEM NIS1, NEM’s original blockchain offering, to the Symbol public chain, a new enterprise-grade chain which will be introduced in parallel with NIS1. To accommodate existing NIS1 users, the two chains will continue to run side-by-side.

Commenting on the announcement, David Shaw, CEO of NEM Group, said, “The opt-in process is a critical part of our migration process and an essential next step in our roadmap leading up to the launch of Symbol. Our team has been heads down building a robust platform, and has taken the learnings from building NEM NIS1 in addition to advancements in the industry and feature set ideas to develop Symbol. Symbol was built from the ground up to be secure, scaleable and decentralised, with enterprise applications at the core of all we do. NIS1 users who choose to opt-in now will be among the first to experience all of Symbol’s capabilities following mainnet launch.”

As part of the migration process, all holders of XEM, NEM NIS1’s native currency, will be eligible to receive XYM tokens on Symbol when it launches later this year. In order to give XEM holders agency throughout migration, the token allocation of the XYM tokens will be determined through the opt-in process and Snapshot, a record of all XEM account balances on the NEM NIS1 blockchain which will be taken in early December 2020.

Opt-in is the first important step in the migration process and, as of the 15th September, all XEM account holders are able to Opt-in to claim their XYM tokens at Snapshot.

By opting-in, XEM holders will obtain an XYM balance equal to that of their XEM balance at the time of the Snapshot. For each 1 XEM held by users at the time of Snapshot, they will receive 1 XYM (1 XEM= 1 XYM). All XYM allocations will be based on this one-time record of XEM balances, so XYM allocations for opt-in will be based on the amount of XEM users hold during Snapshot.

Iain Wilson, Chief Financial Officer of NEM Group, said, “Migrating from NIS1 to Symbol is a milestone event in the history of NEM. Symbol represents the start of our next chapter, as a purpose-built solution to help companies experience the many business benefits of blockchain. And we want our community to be part of this process, by opting-in, participating in Snapshot and helping to continue to tell the NEM story as we continue to drive innovation, build the NEM ecosystem and develop Symbol into the go-to blockchain solution for enterprise.”

Symbol is the next-generation enterprise-grade blockchain solution from NEM, purpose-built to help businesses cut costs, reduce complexities, and streamline innovation. With major upgrades in flexibility, security, speed and ease of use, the Symbol platform is the best-in-class blockchain enterprise solution.

Opt-in is now open via the desktop wallet, with mobile versions (Google Play and iOS) launching soon.