A lot of things are happening in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. It is always crucial to look beyond price charts, as those only tell part of the story.

In the case of NEM, or New Economy Movement, there is a lot of excitement this month. While it may seem like a slow news month, a lot has happened in quick succession.

The NEM Foundation in 2019

When a new year comes around, it is important to recap past events. For NEM, the project’s Foundation has delivered on a lot of promises in 2019. In fact, it has been a good year for this ecosystem altogether. Successfully overcoming the growing pains of the crypto industry is always a win for any project.

The focus of the Foundation lies with facilitating global blockchain adoption in this decade. There is a lot of work to be done, albeit a lot of positive changes have also been introduced. The 2019 reap contains a lot of viable information for community members to take a closer look at.

Travala Accepts XEM

Very few companies make a big impact on the cryptocurrency space every single quarter. Travala is one of those companies, primarily because they accept crypto payments. Several currencies have been added to this platform in the past few months. In a recent update, XEM, the native currency of NEM, was integrated.

It is another crucial developed for the hotel booking platform. Integrating XEM makes a lot of sense based on its popularity. Moreover, this native asset can now be used to achieve up to 40% discount on accommodation bookings. A very welcome development for the New Economy Movement proiect.

From Catapult to SYMBOL

One of the biggest developers this month is the rebranding to SYMBOL. Users who keep a close eye on New Economy Movement may recall the Catapult venture. This enterprise blockchain solution has now been rebranded to SYMBOL. It will serve as a next-gen blockchain engine for partners, community members, and consumers.

A public testnet for SYMBOL is live at this time. Developers are welcome to explore the opportunities at their disposal. SYMBOL prioritizes scaling and frictionless onboarding. It is a very big development for the NEM project as a whole.

The XYM Token

The launch of SYMBOL will also introduce a native token. Known as XYM, it will be distributed to XEM holders at a 1:1 ratio following the snapshot. XEM Will remain the currency of the NIS1 platform. SYMBOL runs alongside NIS1, thus the token issuance makes a lot of sense.

The amount of $XEM in your NEM wallet at the time of snapshot is the same amount of $XYM you will get if you opt-in to the migration. 1 $XEM = 1 $XYM.#NEM #SYMBOL #blockchain pic.twitter.com/Y0shKPhT1b — NEM (@NEMofficial) January 22, 2020

Even after the snapshot data has passed, users can still opt-in to receive SYM tokens at this rate. However, making one’s intentions clear as early as possible is always advised.

Current Network State

As is the case with most cryptocurrencies, current network statistics are crucial. In the case of NEM, there is plenty of network activity to take note of. The number of active addresses has remained stable, which is always positive. A bit of growth wouldn’t hurt, but stability shouldn’t be underestimated either.

In terms of overall XEM transactions, the statistics look healthy as well. There is plenty of network activity taking place in recent weeks. That is all one can ask for during the start of 2020. Once the bullish momentum returns to all markets, statistics for most projects should begin to improve.

JP Buntinx JP Buntinx is passionate about cryptocurrencies, fintech, blockchain, and finance. He currently resides in Belgium. See author's posts