NEM is a highly versatile crypto solution which seeks to adhere to a host of mainstream industry requirements. It is written in Java and JavaScript with 100% original source code. NEM has a stated goal of a wide distribution model and has introduced new features in blockchain technology in its proof-of-importance (POI) algorithm. NEM also features an integrated P2P secure and encrypted messaging system, multisignature accounts and an Eigentrust++ reputation system. Essentially, NEM is designed as a financial blockchain solution and can be used for payment, clearing and settlement in a private environment which is highly controlled. This means that NEM meets several of the regulatory requirements and guidelines in the financial industry. This allows it to be used to settle (change of ownership) any asset via the blockchain. Mijin which is a private chain of NEM has gained popularity and companies such as Hitachi have already embraced it. Why NEM? Many banks around the world have come to accept the importance of blockchain technology. In fact, a good number of banks in the U.S, India and Japan have already started using the technology. Because banks generally employ the smart contract concept, NEM’s platform which is asset-friendly can be used to settle any asset. In settling assets, speed, security, and reliability are very important to a mainstream institution which is what this crypto offers. NEM addresses these issues by repackaging its blockchain into a private chain and presenting it as Mijin. NEM crypto is also applicable in the technology world. Unlike Bitcoin and Dogecoin which use mining to increase the number of coins, XEM uses something called ‘harvesting’. In this process, blocks are generated and a person is rewarded for work contributed using transaction fees. Every block has a certain number of transactions which attract an unknown amount of fees. This keeps the participants incentivized to continue harvesting. For a blockchain user to be allowed to harvest, one must go through a forging mechanism process called Proof-of-Importance (POI). POI is the algorithm used in NEM to time stamp transactions. A NEM user's importance is determined by how many coins they have and the number of transactions made to and from their wallet. POI uses the NCDawareRank network centrality measure, the topology of the transaction graph, as well as a number of other relevant signals to achieve consensus. POI is different from other initiatives which use a fee-sharing model that does not take into consideration one's overall support of the network. In proof-of-stake systems a person needs to have large numbers of coins to form a block, but in NEM transactions volume and trust become factors. This was designed to encourage users of NEM to not simply hold XEM but instead actively carry out transactions. To be eligible for entering the importance calculation, an account must have at least 10,000 vested XEM. All accounts owning more than 10,000 vested XEM have a non-zero importance score. With a supply of 8,999,999,999 XEM, the theoretical maximum number of accounts with non-zero importance is 899,999. In practice, the number of actual accounts with non-zero importance is not expected to approach the theoretical max due to inequalities in held XEM and also the temporal costs associated with vesting. If NEM becomes very popular, a threshold of 10,000 vested XEM could be undesirable. If necessary, this number could be updated in the future via a hard fork, which is the same procedure for adjusting transaction fees and other parameters related to harvesting.
Feathercoin (FTC or ₣) is an open source cryptocurrency, published under the license of MIT / X11.1, based on the Litecoin protocol. On 16 April 2013 Feathercoin successfully forked from Litecoin by the creation of its genesis block. As a cryptocurrency, creation and transfer of coins is based on an open source cryptographic protocol (the blockchain) and is not managed by any central authority. The hashing algorithm chosen for Feathercoin was the Proof-of-Work NeoScrypt, which had premiered on Phoenixcoin. NeoScrypt is 25% more memory intense, which makes it less feasible to create ASICs for it. The main programmer is Peter Bushnell, at the time running the information technology for the Brasenose College of Oxford University. He explained his motivation for developing the coin in an interview with Vitalik Buterin. One month after launching Feathercoin, Peter Bushnell left his job as head of IT at the Brasenose College of Oxford University and lived off his Litecoin savings. Feathercoin was launched on 16th April 2013 and as developed by Peter Bushnell. It was forked from Litecoin, with the aim of making Feathercoin what Litecoin was supposed to be: a faster, more secure, and stable version of Bitcoin. The consensus mechanism is based on the Proof of Work (PoW) concept. The Feathercoin network runs on the NeoScrypt hashing algorithm, making it much easier and faster to mine. Feathercoin enjoyed rapid adoption by users soon after its launch, gaining immense popularity, and establishing itself as a worthy contender in a BTC/LTC dominated market. Feathercoin can be mined using either processors (CPUs) or graphics cards (GPUs). Due to the hashing algorithm of FTC, it cannot be mined with an ASIC card. Mining software is available for download at their official site. Wallets for FTC can be found over at their official website, including both desktop and mobile wallets.. While the paper money you are used to carrying around is (or can be) stored in a physical wallet, cryptocurrencies, like all digital currencies, have to be stored in a software-based digital wallet. Although you will find links to feathercoin wallets throughout the web, the only safe way to know that you're downloading the latest and correct version is by scrolling to the bottom of the coin's official home page and selecting the button for your particular operating system. Feathercoin wallets are available for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows platforms.