Topic: What altcoins are similar to NextCoin or MaidSafe? (Read 1024 times)

Multisignature accounts

NEM’s multisignature is novel and unique in the cryptocurrency sphere. We have actually taken multisignature one notch higher. It does away with the need to make every signatory sign the transaction directly onto a wallet. Instead it is done on the block chain.

This doesn’t sound like a big deal at first, but if one really takes a closer look at it, the advantages are significant. With other platforms, multisig has always been client- or wallet-based, and had a couple of setbacks. First, each implementation has not been compatible, even if it is of the same crypto currency. Secondly, it requires the wallet carrying the lockbox to be online.

In NEM’s case, multisignature accounts can be created and transactions issued by using the APIs. Secondly, with NEM’s block chain multisig implementation, the NIS nodes handle the signing of a transaction. Hence, once a multsig transaction is created or signed, the user can switch the client wallet offline, making it an almost cold wallet.

Remote (proxy) harvesting and remote NIS

NEM has revolutionized mining in cryptocurrencies. Known as remote harvesting in NEM, this process involves using a proxy address to harvest on the same machine or another machine. How this works is that the original account creates a proxy public address key and uses this public address as the “front” to harvest. Any rewards from it get transparently passed to the real address holding this proxy key. That is the very essence of remote harvesting.

Apart from remote harvesting, NEM’s software architecture allows harvesting without ever needing to have the client wallet (NCC) online. One can use this by making use of a remote NIS to harvest on your behalf, without ever giving the remote NIS access to your private key. No matter where the NIS is in the network and no matter how malicious the NIS can be, one will never need to worry about an NIS stealing XEM from your account.