Neo Network: China’s Ethereum

Neo is an open-source and decentralised smart contract network launched as Antshare in 2014 by Erick Zhang and Da Hongfei. It rebranded to Neo network in 2017, after the launch of its mainnet in 2016.

As a smart contract network, it enables developers to build decentralised applications (dApps) for various uses. It also features other services, including oracles, domain name service, decentralised file storage, and an identity system.

NeoContract

NeoContract is the blockchain’s smart contract system. It is independent and helps with transaction validation, token sales, and the development of dApps. It consists of;

• NeoVM: A decentralised virtual machine where smart contracts are executed.

• NeoContract APIs: Sets of interfaces that enrich smart contracts with practical and powerful functionality.

• Software Development Kit (SDK): a combination of applications and plugins that ease the development process of smart contracts.

Neo network’s smart contracts stand out because developers do not need to learn a new programming language to create them. Developers can use a variety of common programming languages, including C#, Java, and Python to create the contracts.

Consensus mechanism

The Neo network is secured by the delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerant (dBFT). This consensus mechanism works more or less like the delegated proof of stake (DPoS).

How it works is that dBFT employs a real-time voting system that determines the nodes to create the next block on the blockchain. Holders of the blockchain’s token stake or lock up a portion of their coins to vote for the consensus nodes that will create blocks and get the block reward.

Tokens

The blockchain has two native tokens, NEO and GAS. NEO has two uses, with more on the way. Holders can use them to vote for various changes. The tokens can also be used to claim GAS. Staking NEO allows holders to get a portion of the block reward paid in GAS. GAS is used to access the network’s services.

Both tokens have a max supply cap of 100 million coins. According to Coinmarketcap, there are currently 70,538,831 NEO coins and 10,128,375 GAS coins in public circulation.

Each NEO coin, as of writing, is worth $8.85 and ranked 65th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Each GAS coin is worth $2.29 and is ranked the 553rd largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Both coins are available for purchase in many exchanges, including major ones like Binance, KuCoin, and OKX.

Neo offers a lot to its users. Its services, which range from smart contract functionality, oracles, and domain name service, to decentralised file storage, enable it to be a great blockchain-based service provider in the crypto space. With the N3 upgrade on the way, the network is poised to get even better.