What is XEM (NEM Blockchain)?

XEM is the native token of the NEM blockchain and is used for payments on the network. Additionally, users must hold XEM to participate in NEM's consensus process. NEM utilizes a Proof-of-Importance (POI) algorithm for consensus, which determines who may produce a block through a calculation of a user's relative importance to the network. A user's relative importance score is based on the number of XEM tokens they hold, in addition to the number of transactions that have been made to and from the user's NEM wallet. Users with high importance scores are more likely to produce blocks on the blockchain.