You’ve probably read a lot of articles that tell you to think twice before launching a cryptocurrency. The same articles probably tell you all of the things you should consider before doing so. Take all that in — make a plan. This article is not about the do’s and don’ts — it is about the HOW.
I’m going to teach you how to create a cryptocurrency without any code. Then I’m going to show you a little code to take it further.
I train developers, business, and enterprise on blockchain development and architecture. Learn more here.
The NEM Blockchain
You may not have heard of NEM, but if you are into the crypto scene you have probably heard of XEM. NEM is the world’s most developer friendly blockchain platform, and XEM is it’s cryptocurrency (currently has the 13th largest crypto market cap in the world). For many reasons (which aren’t covered here) you should absolutely consider using NEM instead of other public blockchains — especially over Ethereum.
- Download the NEM Nano Wallet
2. Create a new Simple Wallet
3. Get some XEM. You’ll need about 115 XEM to launch the cryptocurrency. Go to https://changelly.com/
4. Send the XEM to your Nano Wallet public address. To find your public address open the Nano Wallet and click the word “Account” at the top right. Your public address is on the left hand side.
5. With some XEM in our account we can create a Namespace and a Mosaic. Think of a Namespace like having your own domain on the blockchain. You launch smart assets (mosaics) under that domain. This is a great way to utilize the public blockchain without cluttering up your data with everyone else’s public data.
Your mosaic will be a cryptocurrency — but the beauty of NEM is that mosaics are really smart assets and can be anything. You could create for instance, a tracking service for packages from delivery services, you have a mosaic named “Package” and can create an infinite amount of packages. You can have multiple mosaics/assets in your domain as well.
In our case the mosaic will be a cryptocurrency or token, and will have a finite amount.
Click Services at the top, then click Create Namespace
Then create your namespace. The rental fee is the cost to own a namespace on the blockchain for 1 year. The smaller fee is the cost to perform the transaction.
6. Create a mosaic:
Then enter the details for it:
Adjust the settings as you desire for your organization and token. You can have up to 6 decimals (divisibility) in your currency. You can make it transferable or not, and mutable or immutable. The levy is a fee that you can set to collect whenever a transaction occurs with your cryptocurrency. This is a very common thing to do when creating a cryptocurrency, especially when you are providing a product or service.
7. Enter your password and then click Send. It could take a few minutes before the transaction is processed and written to the blockchain. On your dashboard you have Confirmed and Unconfirmed transactions. You’ll see it in Unconfirmed until it has been written to the blockchain.
8. That’s it! Start sending your new cryptocurrency to anyone you like. Just open your Nano Wallet and go to Send then click Mosaic Transfer. After that select your currency on the right and click Attach
You can send this to any Nano Wallet in the world now — live on the NEM blockchain. You can work to get this listed on public exchanges and build your product around it.
What’s Next?
So launching a cryptocurrency was super easy but there is so much more you can do! NEM is a blockchain built with a full suite of developer tools. No crazy hacks needed to build robust apps (like you have to do with Ethereum). There is a super simple API gateway you can connect to without needing your own server.
You would want to build your own wallet app and tools so your users don’t have to manually use the Nano Wallet. In fact, I programmed a simple wallet you can use for your new cryptocurrency here for free.
If you want to learn how to build apps on the NEM blockchain checkout our comprehensive NEM training series here.
