NEO

NEO (NEO) is a smart-contract platform, launched originally as Antshares, that aims to build what its founders call a smart economy by combining digital assets, digital identity and smart contracts. Often described as the Ethereum of China, NEO is designed to let real-world assets be registered, issued and traded on a public blockchain with legal-grade identity attached.

What is NEO?

NEO was founded in 2014 by a Shanghai-based R&D company and became China's first open-source public blockchain. Its guiding formula is simple: digital assets plus digital identity plus smart contracts equals a smart economy. In practice that means tangible things like property, company shares or fiat can be digitized and moved on-chain, while a built-in identity layer links those assets to verified individuals and organizations.

How does NEO work?

NEO relies on delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT), a proof-of-stake style consensus where a small set of elected consensus nodes propose and validate blocks. This design favors fast finality and single-block confirmation over the probabilistic finality of proof-of-work chains. NEO also runs a dual-token model: holding NEO generates GAS, a second token used to pay for transactions and smart-contract execution, so the network is powered without spending the base asset itself.

NEO tokenomics and supply

NEO has a capped total of 100,000,000 tokens, of which around 70.5 million circulate. The supply traces back to two early crowdsales: the first sold 17.5 million tokens in 2015 for about $550,000, and the second sold the remaining 22.5 million for roughly $4.5 million. A distinctive feature is that NEO is indivisible, so it is held and transferred in whole units.

• NEO token: governance and the right to generate GAS
• GAS token: pays transaction and smart-contract fees
• Capped total of 100 million NEO

What is NEO used for?

NEO is used to deploy smart contracts, tokenize assets, and participate in on-chain governance. Its digital identity standards support electronic ID data for people, organizations and entities, using multi-factor models that can include biometric checks, giving the network an emphasis on compliance and legal recognition that sets it apart from purely permissionless platforms.

Where to buy NEO

NEO is widely listed. Use our best crypto exchanges ranking to compare trading fees and regional availability before you buy. Because holding NEO passively generates GAS, many holders prefer a compatible self-custody wallet; see our best crypto wallets guide for options that support NEO and its GAS distribution.

Is NEO a good investment?

NEO is an established platform with a long history, but it competes in a crowded smart-contract market and its price has swung dramatically, from an all-time high near $198 to lows under ten cents. Regulatory sentiment toward China-linked projects can also weigh on it. As with any crypto asset, treat NEO as volatile and speculative, do your own research, and never risk money you cannot afford to lose. Nothing here is financial advice.