* The story is fictional, any similarity is purely coincidental*
How often do you give birthday presents? Fairly often, I suppose, especially If you have a big family and a lot of friends. What kind of presents do you usually give? For many people that could be a real problem. Because sometimes, it’s not that easy to choose a gift for someone you love. I have to admit, that for my father it wasn’t a problem at all. He solved the problem easily. In what way? – He just never gave me a present, not for a single birthday.
Today is my 40th birthday, and I was so surprised to find out in the early morning a letter from my father that was tied in ribbon and looked like a gift! It was unbelievable! For the first time in 40 years!
I opened the envelope and took out the letter …
Letter.
Hello son! Today you are 40 years old. You are a successful man, who doesn’t need my help anymore, but despite this fact, you are my son and I still care about you.
Probably all those years you’ve been wondering, Why I’ve never given you any present? Today I’m going to tell you why, or more precisely, what happened to your birthday presents.
Make yourself some coffee, turn off your phone. Let’s check the story of your gifts!
My plan.
40 years ago, shortly after your birth, I found out about the cryptocurrency. I was intensely interested and decided to study the issue more deeply. It’s hard to believe now, but at that time the cryptocurrency wasn’t practically used and there were very few of them. The Bitcoin was by far the main creator of the whole story, but I was attracted by one project that has begun to develop and carried ideas much deeper than just a means of payment.
In those 40 years, the market has changed a lot, but I’m going to tell you how it all started. The story of the NEM cryptocurrency starts with the legendary BitcoinTalk forum, where for the first time one of its users has spoken about the creation of a “smart” cryptocurrency. That was the first truly project for people, which attracted enthusiasts from around the world. No one was promised a big salary or pot of gold. Everyone was passionate about this idea, dedicating to this work all their free time and believing in the future of the NEM blockchain.
At that time, I was the forum’s active participant. After reading about NEM working, I was inspired to stand at the origins of its development. In March 2015, the first stable version of NEM officially launched. It was a great time and we were very excited. A few months later, we celebrated your first birthday. We weren’t rich, but I, as any parent, wanted a better life for you. At that moment, I got an idea to accumulate funds for your future. I saved a small amount of money from my salary every month and bought XEM tokens on your birthday each year. The same XEMs that are now used by billions of people every second, but in that time it was just the investment of my faith.
Now, absolutely everything is known about NEM: while applying for a job, an applicant must pass NEM blockchain knowledge test, children in schools study the principles of NEM economy and you’ll hardly find anyone who doesn’t have a NEM payment chip. But at that time, cryptocurrency wasn’t used for payments at all. NEM has played a pioneering role implementing the blockchain in the real world. After the launch, NEM began actively developing in the banking sector, for example they worked with Japanese banks. They have created several private blockchains for different structures.
As long as you were a baby my plan worked out, I easily saved and invested money in XEM. But when you were 3 years old, the first questions appeared. Mom gave you a racing car set, and you were impatient for a gift from me. I have to admit, I wasn’t prepared for this. I already bought tokens and I simply didn’t have the money to buy you something else. I began to explain to you that your gift is hidden in the electronic space and when you grow up you will get it. But you were too young to understand this. You were upset with me. I will never forgive myself for this.
In 2018, a crisis hit the cryptocurrency market. Governments began to tighten rules and many NEM partners were forced to abandon the use of blockchain. All my XEM savings have dropped sharply in value. However, unlike many others, I saw it as an opportunity and continued to follow my plan of buying XEM for you.
I was determined not to tell you about the gift so that neither you nor I had the temptation to sell everything because every year the amount became more impressive. On your fifth birthday, I got an idea to dedicate the whole day to you, just somehow justify the lack of a birthday gift. Since then, we have a tradition to spend your birthday only together.
In 2020, NEM announced the upcoming launch of the new blockchain named Symbol. The same Symbol is now implemented in all government institutions and businesses-units of various levels. I insisted you go studying for a Symbol developer. As we can see now, not in vain. You have accomplished so much.
However, before the launch of Symbol, the NEM team started another platform, which later became valued around the world.
Are you being surprised? Make yourself some more coffee, there’s more to come!
Chapter 1: NEM
Chapter 2: NEM HUB
Chapter 3: Symbol
This Story is a contribution to NEM HUB`s Community Writing Contest. Please follow our Twitter and join our community chat on Telegram.
