Review on Symbol (XYM) by Benaiah A. Akinlade
Symbol: Providing a breather from the cloud of confusion surrounding the NEM ecosystem
My review of the NEM project ended on a low tone of skepticism despite some of the fascinating service deliveries of the NEM ecosystem as I pondered on the unanswered questions trailing the project, most especially the allegations of misappropriation of funds of the company by top level members of the company which consequently led to the layoff of some members of staff of the company. I haven’t found the needed answers before I got notified of the transition and integration of NEM to Symbol public blockchain.
Symbol is a hybrid blockchain service provider that went live on 17th March 2021. Hybrid in the sense that it is natively compatible with both private and public blockchains which allows the integration and communication between users of private and public chains thereby making it a dual chain ecosystem. Symbol is built to provide efficiency in service delivery through its “4-tiered” blockchain architecture. This in effect makes the platform more resilient, robust and faster than current blockchains.
Symbol prides itself in the integration of developers and enterprises in its pursuit of seamless transaction experience for customers.
The native currency of the Symbol public blockchain is the XYM token, which is expected launch in the "First Quarter" of 2021. The token is useful for payment for transactions on the Symbol ecosystem. The token is already listed on 15 cryptocurrency exchanges.
This newly launched integration will lead to a wide range of new ideas in the crypto space some of which includes:
i. Allocation of XYM being decided based on your XEM account balances on the block.
ii. As a XEM holder, you will obtain an XYM balance equivalent to your XEM balance at the time of the Snapshot.
iii. Migrating selected data on the NEM public chain to Symbol at the release of the new public chain.
The Symbol blockchain has whetted my appetite in anticipation of how these fascinating service deliveries will pan out. My optimism is not too high so that there won’t be any disappointments as the new project is still directly connected with the alleged failures of NEM. I hope there will be a resolution to the cloud of doubt surrounding Symbol’s parent company in order to positively secure the future of this new company in the crypto space. I hope this is not a case of a new system with the same old problem.
Pros
- The Symbol website is captivating and easily navigable with up to 5 languages supported. It is a well-structured, arranged and educative website platform.
- It is cheaper and faster to transact on the Symbol blockchain
- The codes used in designing Symbol blockchain is open-source.
- The blockchain adopts an improved Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus so that the nodes that are actively supporting the network can be maintained.
- The Symbol blockchain is fully decentralized
Cons
- The cloud of doubts and concerns surrounding the NEM ecosystem still needs to be cleared
- The XYM wallet is currently only available for desktop devices. There is need to make the wallet available for iOS and Android
