NEO: The Blockchain Platform Creating a Smart Economy with Digital Assets, Identities, and Smart Contracts

NEO: Everything You Need to Know

NEO is an open-source, decentralized blockchain platform that aims to create a “smart economy” by combining digital assets, digital identities, and smart contracts. NEO was founded in 2014 by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang as Antshares, and rebranded to NEO in 2017. The name NEO comes from the Greek word for “new”, reflecting the project’s vision of building a new economy based on blockchain technology

NEO has two native tokens: NEO and GAS. NEO is the governance token that represents the right to manage the network and participate in voting. NEO holders also receive GAS dividends, which are generated by the network activity. GAS is the utility token that is used to pay for transaction fees, deploy and execute smart contracts, and access other network services. Both NEO and GAS have a fixed total supply of 100 million tokens, but NEO is indivisible while GAS is divisible

How does NEO work?

NEO works as a platform that enables developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts using various programming languages, such as C#, Python, Java, and Go. NEO supports multiple types of digital assets, such as native assets, global assets, and contract assets, which can be registered, transferred, and exchanged on the network. NEO also implements a digital identity system based on the X.509 standard, which allows users to verify their identity and comply with regulatory requirements

NEO uses a consensus mechanism called Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT), which is designed to achieve high scalability, finality, and performance. dBFT relies on a group of nodes called validators, who are elected by NEO holders, to validate transactions and produce blocks. Each block can contain up to 500 transactions and has a maximum size of 4 MB. The average block time on NEO is about 15 seconds, and the network can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second

NEO is currently undergoing a major upgrade to NEO 3.0, which is expected to launch in 2021. NEO 3.0 will introduce several improvements and new features, such as:

A new governance model that allows any NEO holder to become a validator and participate in consensus.

A new economic model that adjusts the GAS generation rate and distribution mechanism.

A new oracle service that enables smart contracts to access external data sources.

A new file storage service that allows users to store and share files on the blockchain.

A new interoperability protocol that enables cross-chain communication and asset transfer.

A new built-in decentralized exchange that supports atomic swaps and liquidity pools.

A new development toolkit that simplifies the creation and deployment of dApps and smart contracts.

Who are the team behind NEO?

NEO is a decentralized project that does not have a single founder or leader. Instead, it relies on the collective efforts and contributions of its community members. The core team behind NEO consists of:

The NEO Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that supports the development and maintenance of the NEO ecosystem. The Foundation consists of a Board of Directors, an Advisory Board, and various teams that handle different aspects of the ecosystem, such as development, marketing, legal, design, etc. The Foundation also collaborates with external partners and developers who wish to integrate their services or products with the NEO ecosystem.

The Neo Global Development (NGD), which is a subsidiary of the NEO Foundation that focuses on the technical development and implementation of the NEO platform. NGD consists of several regional branches, such as NGD Seattle, NGD EcoGrowth, NGD Enterprise, etc., that work on specific projects or initiatives related to the NEO ecosystem.

The Neo Council (NC), which is a group of community-elected representatives who oversee the governance of the NEO network. NC members are responsible for proposing and voting on network parameters, such as block size, transaction fees, validator rewards, etc., as well as managing the network resources, such as GAS allocation, oracle nodes, file storage nodes, etc.

The Neo Community Assembly (NCA), which is a platform that connects and empowers various community groups within the NEO ecosystem, such as developers, investors, users, media, etc. NCA members can participate in various activities and events organized by the NCA or its partners, such as hackathons, workshops, meetups, webinars, etc., as well as access various resources and benefits provided by the NCA or its partners.

What are its use cases?

NEO has various use cases within and outside the NEO ecosystem. Within the ecosystem,

NEO can be used to:

Create and deploy dApps and smart contracts that leverage the features and services of the NEO platform, such as digital assets, digital identities, oracles, file storage, etc.

Register, transfer, and exchange various types of digital assets, such as native assets, global assets, or contract assets, on the NEO network or its built-in decentralized exchange.

Verify and manage one’s digital identity and comply with regulatory requirements using the X.509 standard and the NeoID service.

Participate in the governance of the NEO network by voting for validators, network parameters, and proposals using NEO tokens.

Access various network services and pay for transaction fees using GAS tokens.

Outside the ecosystem, NEO can be used to:

Trade with other cryptocurrencies on decentralized or centralized exchanges.

Store value as a digital asset with a limited supply and a dividend mechanism.

Support other projects or causes that accept NEO donations or payments.

Conclusion

NEO is a versatile platform that aims to create a “smart economy” by combining digital assets, digital identities, and smart contracts. It offers a high-performance, scalable, and interoperable network that supports various programming languages, types of digital assets, and external data sources. It also has a dynamic governance model that allows any NEO holder to become a validator and participate in consensus. With its continuous development and strong community support, NEO has the potential to become one of the leading platforms in the blockchain space.