The NEM Foundation, which aims to popularize the cryptocurrency NEM (XEM), announced that it has established the general incorporated association NEM Japan on November 28.

The NEM Foundation works as a non-profit organization in order to promote the use of NEM blockchain technology, and had been proceeding with the preparations to establish a Japanese branch for some time. The newly established NEM Japan finally completed registration for corporate status in Japan on the 28th.

With NEM Japan, the NEM Foundation will provide support activities for companies that have already adopted the use of NEM in their business. It will also provide technological information and support for the introduction of NEM at companies that are considering undertaking initiatives related to blockchain technology. The company has disclosed its policy to offer support to cryptocurrency exchange operators that are considering managing NEM cryptocurrency, in addition to holding study sessions and events related to NEM in various regions of Japan.

NEM was publicly announced as a cryptocurrency in 2015, with its main feature being the adoption of a consensus algorithm called “proof of importance,” in which users are evaluated on their amount of retained coins and frequency of trades; the higher a user’s “importance score” on the network, the easier it is for them to receive rewards.

There have been significant trade amounts and recognition for NEM in Japan as major cryptocurrency exchanges Coincheck and Zaif offered NEM trading services early on, with many domestic traders focused on NEM. This recognition increased with the high-profile hacking incident at Coincheck in January this year, in which 58 billion yen worth of NEM coins were stolen.

The Zaif cryptocurrency exchange also experienced a hacking incident in September, in which 7 billion yen worth of cryptocurrency assets were lost in an illicit outflow. However, Zaif’s cryptocurrency business continues to operate due to a guarantee to compensate customers’ assets through a business transfer to FISCO Ltd., a financial information distribution service. As of December 3, approximately 13% of NEM trading is on Zaif according to figures on CoinMarketCap. *This article was written by Fisco