“I’m proud and excited that the first DLT standardized will be IOTA and its Tangle architecture.
This will make it much easier to achieve DLT interoperability for the user.”
— Richard Mark Soley, Ph.D., Object Management Group Chairman and CEO and IOTA Foundation Supervisory Board Chairman.

IOTA Standardization Update — November 2020
https://blog.iota.org/iota-standardization-update-november-2020-2deca99b0396

First standards, then acceptance and adoption.

Snapshot Confirmed for 14 January 2021
https://forum.nem.io/t/snapshot-confirmed-for-14-january-2021/26370

Launch: 14th January 2021 (exact time TBC)
Snapshot Block: 3,025,200
Snapshot Date: 14th January 2021 (approx 11:07am UTC from block height)
Pre Launch Opt-In closes: 9th January 2021

Good decision. A December launch would have been too rushed.
Better timing with additional testing and verification will maximize success.

https://twitter.com/iainwilson11/status/1326493314921754627
Ahead of the curve. 

IOTA Private Tangle is on AWS Marketplace.

https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/B08M4933Y3

Hornet node + spammer + coo in one click.

https://forum.nem.io/t/symbol-launch-discussion-topic-3-3-snapshot-block-height/26198

Option 1: Random selection of a height by code at launch time
Option 2: Known block selected and communicated ahead of time
Option 3: Known block selected and exact height communicated after launch

Option #2 is best. All parties involved will have the same information, let there be no question of manipulation.

For many it is tax favorable that XYM have a zero value at distribution.
Let the XYM distribution occur before the XYM trading. 

New Pollen testnet
https://blog.iota.org/pollen-testnet-v0-3-0-release-notes-29413140db88

dRNG Beacons
https://goshimmer.naerd.tech/drng

Node
https://node.naerd.tech/info

Grafana dashboard  (User: viewer  Password: viewer)
https://grafana.naerd.tech/

 

NEM and StakeHound form a partnership to provide Liquid Staking
https://blog.nem.io/nem-and-stakehound-form-partnership-to-provide-liquid-staking/

NEM & Propine — Delivering Asset Tokenisation using Symbol blockchain
https://medium.com/nemofficial/nem-propine-delivering-asset-tokenisation-using-symbol-blockchain-366366373d03

Updated whitepaper - Version 0.10.0.3
https://docs.symbolplatform.com/catapult-whitepaper/main.pdf

The section on Finalization is good stuff!

Symbol blockchain to host whisky fund and central bank collectibles at launch
https://cointelegraph.com/news/symbol-blockchain-to-host-whisky-fund-and-central-bank-collectibles-at-launch
 

The latest Symbol testnet.

https://forum.nem.io/t/nem-symbol-0-10-0-release-announcement-testnet-launch/25863

Now with deterministic finalization.

Host a node and pay with your Nemmies.
https://www.allnodes.com/invite/9jdf3d

Interesting article.
https://blog.shrimpy.io/blog/case-study-using-machine-learning-for-portfolio-management

They have been tracking the performance of 4 different portfolio strategies:
Bitcoin HODL, CoinGecko, Nomics ML, and market-cap indexing.

So far the portfolio using machine learning is in the lead. It's based on the top 10 cryptocurrencies that
were predicted to perform the highest for the next 7 days. The BTC HODL is the worst performing.
https://www.shrimpy.io/leader/mlcasestudy

NEM was selected in 7 of the 17 weeks.
week 2, May 18, 2020  #9. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +8.01%
week 4, June 1, 2020  #7. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +11.31%
week 8, June 29, 2020  #5. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +14.6%
week 11, July 20, 2020  #8. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +12.59%
week 13, August 3, 2020  #10. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +22.65%
week 15, August 17, 2020  #10. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +22.68%
week 17, August 31, 2020  #2. XEM Projected 7-day profit: +53.53%

In any model projected will differ from actual, but there is something deep within the market data that keeps
signaling NEM.

My strategy is the couch-potato XEM HODL. 

SYMBOL Migration FAQ – NEM Helpdesk
https://support.nem.group/hc/en-us/sections/360007012931-SYMBOL-Migration-FAQ

We still have time to load-up our XEM baskets at these discount prices.
https://forum.nem.io/t/opt-in-date-announcement/25565
1:1 ratio!


Why do these Y-weave storage baskets remind me of something?
 


 

IOTA Hornet is now on AWS Marketplace.

https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/B08CGPLSYZ

Running a node is pretty simple.

Symbol from NEM – Brand Introduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M18PkPDhKU

Just saw the same actress on a Nature's Bounty commercial at the 00:09 second mark.
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/nylq/natures-bounty-stress-comfort-feeling-stressed

Well it's not the NEM silver coin project, but at least it's legal tender by an actual central bank.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/lithuania-to-launch-cbdc-this-month-intended-for-collection-purposes-not-trade

Collecting/trading the digital tokens then redeeming for real silver sounds like fun.

Gotta Catch 'Em All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVp-zIONsrs

Running a Symbol testnet just got easier.

NEM is now a payment option on allnodes.com
Billing > Payment Methods > Bitcoin and Altcoins > Pay with Crypto > XEM

~10% are hosted there.

NEM in the FCAS 25
https://flipsidecrypto.com/fcas-25

View NEM contributors and commit data.

28 projects 4741 commits 63 contributors 452 stars

https://gitgitlog.com/nemtech
https://gitgitlog.com/nemtech/projects

Good activity.

View IOTA contributors and commit data.

116 projects 32569 commits 361 contributors 6571 stars

https://gitgitlog.com/iotaledger/
https://gitgitlog.com/iotaledger/projects

Finally, got a node running.  

Here is the "Running a XYM Testnet Node Without Tears" method.

1. Goto https://www.allnodes.com/invite/9jdf3d
2. Click Host node -> Symbol Testnet.
3. Select a city.
4. That's it.

In 10 minutes your new node is synced, easy peasy.

The service is $10/month.
They said later NEM will be a payment option.

Thanks for adding Symbol Testnet!   

Top 100 People In Blockchain and Crypto
https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain#list

Dominik Schiener
https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain/dominik-schiener