A deep dive into businesses using Symbol: LuxTag

As part of our drive to embark upon a deeper exploration into the commercial use cases of Symbol, we’re initiating a series dedicated to looking at companies that entered into collaborative agreements with NEM, and are committed to using Symbol. 

We get the series underway with LuxTag, an innovative blockchain-based company located in Malaysia, that works to prove ownership and combat counterfeiting in a range of industries. 

What is LuxTag?

LuxTag was founded in December 2016 by current CEO Rene Bernard, CBO Jeff McDonald, and Faeez M. Noor. The company is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has maintained a close relationship with NEM from its inception.

The project received start-up funding from the NEM Community Fund, and secured a subsidy worth $650,000 of XEM coins in July 2017. The funding was the result of a voting process conducted by the NEM community, and which LuxTag qualified for and was scheduled to be processed via a number of milestone payments.

This initial funding allowed LuxTag to develop into a real-life notarization and certification service that prevents both the theft and counterfeiting of goods, products, and services by using blockchain technology to establish proof-of-authenticity and proof-of-ownership. 

The project uses blockchain technology to provide digital certification solutions to fashion companies, luxury brands, art dealers, and organizations such as universities and colleges in need of an immutable way to secure documents such as degrees and diplomas.   

LuxTag’s products and solutions

LuxTag has rolled out a number of blockchain-based solutions, including Papyrus, which enables anyone to tag their products on the blockchain. Papyrus requires users to sign up to a free account and submit information on their items/products in order to generate a blockchain certificate.

These blockchain certificates can be claimed by using the LuxTag mobile app to scan the private key QR code of the product. Users also have the option to verify the product using the UUID QR code that the platform generates, or order physical NFC stickers from LuxTag. These blockchain certificates represent a contract of ownership that track an item’s history, and are both immutable in nature and transferable. 

Currently, user accounts must be funded with the XEM cryptocurrency in order to successfully enable the creation of blockchain certificates.

Additional solutions include the Sportslog app, that allows runners to create immutable and publicly shareable certificates of achievement. Scribe E-Scroll is another notable solution; it allows educational and professional organizations to issue certificates through the platform, which can be easily verified by employers and other third parties.

The LuxTag Blockchain Asset Security API (BasAPI) allows anyone to create and customize their own blockchain certificates without needing an in-depth technical understanding of blockchain technology. Functionalities such as product verification, product tracking, ownership transfer, provenance traceability, and digital asset issuance are all unlocked via BasAPI and allow anyone to access enhanced blockchain-backed security and verification tools.   

How LuxTag uses Symbol 

While LuxTag account holders are required to hold XEM in order to create blockchain certificates, LuxTag makes direct use of a number of core functionalities of Symbol platform. 

For example, the company leverages SDKs and APIs provided by Symbol in order to interface with the blockchain, and makes use of tools already available on  Symbol blockchain to run and maintain the LuxTag app. This keeps things streamlined and cost effective, while also allowing developers to ship code faster as they are not concerned with rebuilding the entire stack from scratch.

In addition, LuxTag makes use of  Symbol architecture to place individual certificates on the blockchain. 

Symbol is able to make a unique identifier for each item and doesn’t require the generation of a fingerprint certificate/diploma which is to then be placed on the blockchain. As a result, the actual original certificate is digitized and remains immutable and cannot be lost, or damaged in the traditional sense.

How LuxTag continues to develop   

LuxTag continues to move forward and has secured additional funding since receiving a subsidy from the  NEM Foundation. 

The company received a $100,000 grant from Platcom Ventures towards the end of 2017, and completed a seed funding round in June 2018. This was led by xSquared Ventures LLC, and resulted in $600,000 in further funding and LuxTag obtaining a valuation of $6,600,000.

A Security Token Offering in 2020 saw LuxTag secure a further $360,000 in funding by offering an 11.11% equity stake in the company. The token offering was opened to accredited investors and received the approval of the Securities Commission of Malaysia, making it one of the first official token offerings in Malaysia.

Using newly raised funds, the company has branched out into Thailand, Bangladesh, and India, and maintains a presence in the USA, Spain, and Russia with further expansions being planned. LuxTag has launched a number of collaborative projects including the tagging of luxury watches produced by TechBureau Holdings Corp.and Chronoswiss, and the registration of university diplomas via E-scroll on the NEM NIS1 chain for the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) in coordination with the Malaysian government.

What this means for Symbol

As previously stated, LuxTag is already using Symbol and the team plan to deploy and integrate the Enterprise version of Papyrus to early adopters, and to ramp up the onboarding of interested parties.

This will result in further commercial adoption, and LuxTag is a prime example of an innovative company that is providing real world solutions through the use of Symbol. The notarization company is currently making use of core platform features that help to progress and accelerate its adoption, and these include enhanced Mosaic and Asset Issuance  features, as well as the API and toolkit structure. These features allow LuxTag to run and maintain the LuxTag app in an efficient and cost effective manner, and to incorporate the use of blockchain technology in a way that is comfortable and not resource intensive. 

The continued development shown by LuxTag illustrates how Symbol provides solutions for companies of various sizes and can help blockchain-based businesses to grow and achieve further commercial adoption. As innovative companies like LuxTag help to pave the way forward, Symbol is already well positioned as a highly customizable and efficient Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) solution that allows companies to plug into a cutting edge network that helps to modernize daily workflows and to bring improvements across a range of business operations. 

Read our LuxTag Case Study under the Supply Chain header on our Enterprise page.