NEO (NEO) price

What is NEO?

NEO is the first open-source cryptocurrency to be launched in China. It is often referred to as the ‘Chinese Ethereum’ or ‘Ethereum Killer’. The cryptocurrency uses a unique Blockchain algorithm that improves upon the Ethereum network. Apart from NEO cryptocurrency, NEO also has another crypto-token called GAS. 

History of NEO 

Launched in 2014, NEO was formerly known as Antshares, a company founded by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang. In response to growing demand for Blockchain solutions that meet government and private sector requirements, Hongfei and Zhang founded OnChain, a venture-backed company for providing Blockchain solutions in 2016. 

Antshares rebranded itself as NEO on June 22, 2017, when they changed their focus to smart contracts and the Blockchain Economy. The merger resulted in the NEO crypto, a widely used cryptocurrency in China. 

NEO Features

NEO’s primary goal is to support the building of a smart economy backed by Blockchain technology. The NEO crypto technology has already shown great promise when it comes to security, scalability, and compatibility across various applications.

The digital currency is designed to support faster development and deployment of smart contracts and projects. While most cryptocurrencies are known for anonymity, NEO boasts of digital identities as one of its capabilities, which it says it enhances the integrity of transactions.

NEO uses a delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus mechanism which ensures it can process more transactions at any given time. The consensus provides finality such that, once a transaction is confirmed, it cannot be rolled backed or revoked.

How NEO Crypto Works

NEO is considered the Ethereum of China because, like Ethereum, it is a platform on which other decentralized applications can run. The platform allows users to execute various smart contract code on the NEO Blockchain. NEO describes itself as the distributed network for the smart economy. 

Participants in the ecosystem designate certain nodes as bookkeepers, tasked with the responsibility of verifying blocks that are written to the Blockchain.

When two-thirds of the nodes agree with a bookkeeper’s version of the Blockchain, a consensus of the proposed version of the Blockchain is automatically achieved. This is the major difference between NEO Crypto and Ethereum.

NEO Coin and Token

The NEO platform is made up of two cryptographic currencies, NEO and GAS, capped at 100 million tokens each. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, which are generated through a mining process, NEO coins cannot be mined in the typical sense. While it is possible to forge new coins, it does not require dedicated hardware as is the case with Bitcoin. 

NEO holders own voting rights in the NEO ecosystem as well as rights to dividends paid in the form of GAS. 50 million NEO tokens were initially distributed through crowdfunding and the remaining 50 million are fixed with a 1-year lockout period.

GAS, on the other hand, is generated at a rate of 8 GAS per block on the construction of a Blockchain. The rate of production is reduced by every 2 million blocks generated. It is estimated that the GAS circulation will reach 100 million by 2039.

Price Analysis

Most cryptocurrencies have seen their price skyrocket mostly on speculation. NEO, for its part, is making bold moves as it looks to grow deep roots in the Asian continent and beyond in a bid to grow its value in the crypto space. The developer-focused architecture should give rise to new applications for the cryptocurrency which should help drive its market value. 

More Blockchain projects on the NEO platform should mean more demand for NEO, which should then lead to an increase in GAS price in future.