NEM (XEM) might only command a market capitalization that gives it a ranking of 10th in the overall cryptocurrency space but, if you were to rearrange this ranking based on future potential (perhaps, rearrange it to reflect what could well be the situation within three years), NEM could easily slot within the top three coins on the market.

With a current market capitalization of just $5 billion, as compares to the $141 billion cap of bitcoin, the $79 billion cap of Ethereum and even the $30 billion cap of Ripple, that seems, at a glance, like a bit of an outlandish claim.

Take a look at this one behind the scenes, however, and it becomes far more of a valid hypothesis.

Here is what we are thinking.

For anybody that is new to NEM, the company (eponymous) has developed a technology that many see as similar to the technology that the above-mentioned Ethereum has created and, in some ways, this comparison is valid.

In many ways, however, it’s not.

For starters, Ethereum is entirely decentralized, while the NEM technology incorporates a degree of centralization but, at the same time, is far more suited to quick and easy integration with current enterprise-grade technology than is Ethereum.

There is plenty of information available as to the deep technological differences between the platforms and their respective technologies but, for us, the best way to think of these two is that Ethereum is designed to completely rebuild the way enterprise technology works, from the ground up. NEM, on the other hand, is almost like a plug-in system that can be built on top of current technologies to allow for integration with blockchain technology, which, in turn, allows the company using it to draw benefit from the inclusion of a blockchain based system in their existing technological framework.

NEM offers both a private and a public blockchain technology through the use of its Mijin platform, which also allows companies to maintain some degree of privacy as far as use of their assets and data is concerned – something that is very difficult (if not impossible) to achieve when building a decentralized application system on Ethereum’s platform.

Additionally, through the use of what NEM calls Mosaics, developers can integrate the NEM blockchain technology into their existing technological framework using pretty much any programming language, as compares to the restrictions of a platform-specific language for Ethereum (Solidity).

This means that a company wanting to employ blockchain technology doesn’t have to simultaneously employ a brand-new team of programmers who are familiar with, in this case, the Solidity programming language. Instead, they can use their existing team for the integration.

So what’s our point here, what does all this mean?

Well, we are not downplaying the potential importance of Ethereum in the global blockchain revolution. What we are saying, however, is that Ethereum integration is a decade-long process that, outside of those companies who build on Ethereum from the outset (so, all those companies conducting ICOs right now), is a long way off realization for the vast majority of legacy corporations.

NEM technology, on the other hand, is almost an overnight integration solution. What we see happening, therefore, is those companies looking to migrate to blockchain technology doing so through NEM initially, before maybe migrating to Ethereum long term.

Some, of course, will use NEM in this stepping-stone manner, while some will stick with NEM longer term – there’s no immediate disadvantage to falling within this latter camp, especially for an early adaptor (which these companies are by definition).

And of course, as NEM adoption spikes, the demand for XEM as a platform functionality asset will push up the price.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.

Image courtesy of NEM