NXT decided to follow the traditional blockchain methodology of Bitcoin with some needed fixing. To this end, they revolutionized the blockchain concept to support an entire ecosystem of decentralized features, dubbing this advancement as Blockchain 2.0, and charging users of this blockchain their cryptocurrency: the NXT Token.
How it works
Unlike Bitcoin, which uses a proof of work concept for verifying the transactions and blockchain, NXT uses a much newer concept: proof of stake. In layman’s terms, this means there’s a static supply of money, i.e., all coins have been released to the public, and no new coins can be generated over time, unlike the mining process for Bitcoin, everyone is so familiar with.
NXT Features
Showing true dedication to the project, the NXT team built the blockchain code completely from scratch in Java, something other competitors in the market didn’t bother to do and were thus able to include a myriad of features on the blockchain users could benefit from, for a fixed price of NXT tokens of course.
Since it was launch in 2013, NXT has added a considerably large number of different features for users to take advantage of when using their blockchain. Unlike other blockchains, the NXT blockchain can be used to trade all kinds of assets between two people, be they trademarks, bonds, reservations or even movie tickets.
NXT users can even employ the blockchain as a marketplace of sorts, buying and selling goods all without the worry of being ripped off by pesky middlemen. You can also launch your cryptocurrency (because why not), supported by the NXT token, on their blockchain and use it to carry out all your transactions on the net. Another feature of the NXT blockchain of worth noticing is that it offers its users a voting system through which they can make customized, cryptographically-proven polls or vote for future development and policies. You can also use the voting system to have a transaction require he signing-off of multiple parties before it can be verified, adding another layer of security. All this and more can be accessed by the NXT blockchain.
The NXT Token
The NXT Token, the official currency corresponding to the NXT blockchain, can be used like any other digital currency like Bitcoin and the like to purchase goods over the internet and partake in all kinds of financial transactions. Other than that, the NXT Token is the standard currency to be used on the NXT “ecosystem” (the sum of all services provided to users by the NXT blockchain), being used as mainly as a service fee for accessing and using the NXT blockchain.
It can currently be bought with other digital currencies over on popular exchange forums like Bittrex and is stored entirely over the web on the NXT blockchain, giving you the ability to access you NXT Tokens on any NXT system.
The Future of NXT
Learning from their experience with NXT, the developers of this blockchain are currently working to establish a new blockchain and currency, one that would improve over the current NXT system, called Ardor and a child chain IGNIS.
Similar to the launch of Ardor a while back, the developers of IGNIS are offering NXT token holders free IGNIS tokens when it launches, with them still being able to keep their old NXT tokens and accounts. So ultimately, the stage looks set for IGNIS and Ardor in the future.
