Symbol (formerly known as NEM) is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform that allows users to create and manage digital assets, build decentralized applications, and conduct secure transactions. It was founded in 2015 by the New Economy Movement (NEM) Foundation. Symbol is based on its own proprietary blockchain technology called Catapult, which provides improved security features over other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
The Symbol platform has two main components: Core and Enterprise. The Core protocol provides fast transaction times and low fees while the Enterprise layer enables developers to create custom blockchains for their businesses. This combination of private enterprise blockchains with public infrastructure creates a powerful ecosystem for developers to use for building applications or conducting transactions securely across multiple networks.
The Symbol network is powered by XEM tokens which are used to facilitate payments between parties on the network, similar to how Bitcoin works. Users can also earn rewards from staking their coins in order to validate transactions on the network through a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Importance (PoI). PoI incentivizes users who hold large amounts of XEM tokens with higher rewards than those who do not have many coins in circulation.
Symbol aims to provide an easy-to-use user experience combined with advanced security features like multi-signature accounts, encrypted messaging systems, smart contracts capabilities, plus much more so people can easily interact with each other within the system without having any knowledge of coding languages or complex technical concepts associated with traditional blockchain protocols like Ethereum or Hyperledger Fabric etc.. Additionally, they offer various services such as managed wallets where users don’t need any technical knowhow but still be able enjoy all benefits offered by this platform securely without being exposed themselves into any kind of risk related activities when it comes down entering into cryptocurrency world!