NEO

Neo is an open-source blockchain platform launched in 2014 under the name Antshares by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang. It was rebranded to Neo in 2017. The platform is designed around what it calls a "smart economy", combining digital assets, digital identity and smart contracts. Neo uses a dual-token system comprising NEO and GAS.

Neo N3 uses Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT), a consensus mechanism in which elected consensus nodes propose and validate blocks. Transactions included in confirmed blocks have finality once consensus is reached.

Key Features:

1. Smart Contracts (NeoContract): Neo supports smart contract development using programming languages including C#, Java, Go, Python and TypeScript. Smart contracts are executed by the NeoVM (Neo Virtual Machine), Neo's runtime environment for contract execution.

2. NeoFS: NeoFS is a decentralised file storage network with permission controls based on wallet addresses. Data is stored as objects in containers, which define placement policies and access rights. Access to stored content can be managed through session tokens or bearer tokens.

3. Neo Name Service (NeoNS): NeoNS is a distributed naming system that maps human-readable domain names, such as alice.neo, to resources including wallet addresses, NeoFS links and IP addresses. It supports hierarchical domains, such as shop.alice.neo, with domain owners able to control their subdomains. Top-level domains, such as .neo, are managed through Neo's governance structure.

4. Neo Oracle Service: Neo's Oracle service allows smart contracts to request data from external sources and use the returned information in on-chain execution. This allows applications to interact with information that is not stored directly on the Neo blockchain.

5. Self-Sovereign Identity: Neo includes support for self-sovereign identity as part of the N3 feature set. This supports applications that use blockchain-based identity information and credentials without relying solely on a central identity provider.

6. Neo X: Neo X is an EVM-compatible sidechain within the Neo ecosystem. It uses dBFT-based consensus and is connected to Neo N3 through interoperability infrastructure. Its bridging infrastructure enables supported assets and data to move between Neo N3 and Neo X, allowing applications on the two networks to interact.

7. Dual-Token Model:

   • NEO: The governance token of the Neo network. NEO holders can use their tokens to vote for candidates to the Neo Council. The 21 candidates with the most votes form the Council, with the seven highest-ranked members also serving as consensus nodes. NEO has a maximum supply of 100 million tokens and is indivisible.
   • GAS: The utility token used to pay network and system fees, including costs associated with transactions and smart contract execution. GAS is generated with each block and distributed through Neo's governance incentive model to NEO holders, voters and Neo Council members. The rate of GAS generation and other network parameters can be adjusted through Neo's governance process. Unlike NEO, GAS does not have a fixed maximum supply on Neo N3. GAS paid as system fees is burned, while network fees are distributed to consensus nodes.

NEO is primarily used for governance of the Neo N3 network and participation in its GAS distribution model.

1. Governance: Each NEO represents one vote that its holder can assign to a registered candidate for the Neo Council. The 21 candidates receiving the most votes form the Council.

2. Consensus Node Selection: The seven highest-ranked Neo Council members also operate as consensus nodes. These nodes propose and validate blocks under Neo's dBFT consensus mechanism.

3. Network Governance: The Neo Council can make changes to selected network parameters, including network and system fees, GAS issuance, storage pricing and designated network roles. NEO holders influence the composition of the Council through their votes rather than voting directly on each network parameter.

4. GAS Distribution: Holding NEO allows users to receive a share of newly generated GAS. NEO holders who participate in governance by voting can receive additional GAS under Neo N3's incentive model. GAS is used separately from NEO to pay network fees and smart contract execution costs.

The Neo blockchain also supports applications and services including tokenised assets, decentralised applications, NeoFS storage, NeoNS domains, Oracle services, self-sovereign identity and interoperability with Neo X. These are capabilities of the Neo platform rather than direct uses of the NEO token.

Before the Legacy network shutdown:

• Migrations of at least 10 NEO or 20 GAS did not incur the additional 1 GAS migration fee.
• Migrations below 10 NEO or 20 GAS incurred an additional fee of 1 GAS.
• NEO and GAS were migrated separately.

Neo Legacy has since been shut down and no longer produces blocks. As a result, assets remaining on the Legacy network can no longer be transferred or migrated through the original migration process.

Assets migrated before the shutdown became available on Neo N3, where NEO can be used for network governance and participation in the GAS distribution model.

Neo was co-founded in 2014 by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang under the original name AntShares. In 2017, the project was rebranded to Neo to reflect a broader platform vision and the integration of smart contracts.

Da Hongfei is a Chinese entrepreneur who co-founded both Neo and Onchain, a blockchain infrastructure company that develops technology for enterprise and institutional use. He has played a key role in promoting blockchain adoption in China and has been actively involved in public and enterprise blockchain development.

Erik Zhang is the lead developer of Neo and the architect of its Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) consensus algorithm. He continues to be involved in the technical design and implementation of core features of the Neo blockchain.

Neo's strategic direction and ecosystem development are overseen by the Neo Foundation, which manages funding and long-term planning. The Neo Global Development (NGD) team, established by the Foundation, handles global community outreach, technical development, and ecosystem partnerships.

Independent developer communities also contribute to Neo’s infrastructure and applications, including:

• COZ (City of Zion): An open-source development group responsible for building core tools such as wallets, SDKs, and explorers.
• NeoSPCC (Neo Saint Petersburg Competence Center): A team focused on infrastructure development, including the decentralised storage layer NeoFS.
• NeoEconoLabs (NEL): A China-based developer group supporting smart contract tooling and broader ecosystem participation.

These groups collaborate with the Foundation to support the platform's decentralised development model and ongoing upgrades.