After Ethereum introduced the world to the concept of smart contracts, we saw the emergence of similar platforms. During 2017-2018, smart contract capability was the buzzword that attracted big investors.
Projects that provided decentralized app deployment were soaring. NEO was one of the top performers showing future-proof capabilities. Dubbed “the Chinese Ethereum,” the NEO blockchain is attempting to become one of the pillars of Web3 by providing a wide range of decentralization features.
We will consider the advanced features that make NEO an interesting project for investors and developers. It should give you a good idea of why you might want to consider NEO over other smart contract platforms.
What the Neo Blockchain Brings to the Table
NEO was created in 2014 as a direct competitor to Ethereum. It tried to pioneer a novel consensus mechanism at the time — the PoS decentralized Byzantine Fault Tolerant (dBFT). Thus, it got incredible scalability, with more than 10,000 transactions per second.
It’s a smart contract-capable platform that allows developers to program in 5 different and widely accepted programming languages — C#, Python, Go, TypeScript, and Java. As such, the team behind NEO claims that their platform is infinitely easier to develop than EVM blockchains using Solidity.
All in all, NEO attempts to provide advanced features to developers that wish to utilize the latest achievements in blockchain technology.
NeoFS
NeoFS is a decentralized storage network, which aims to replace centralized ones. The goal of NeoFS is to grant developers full access and control to their data while never compromising on security. It achieves this through encrypted data accessible through granular lists.
Moreover, anyone can join the NeoFS and provide storage as a node on the network. Node runners can even be elected to participate in the governance of the network. Storage providers can customize their settings to optimize regional access to their users as well. This allows NeoFS to remain highly efficient at all times.
NeoID
NeoID is a set of decentralized identity tools that provide solutions for user authentication on the blockchain, allowing developers to make permissioned access to certain functions of their smart contacts. They can also mix permissioned and permissionless features in a single app.
The feature also lets users create and manage identifiers and use these certifications to access data without sharing private information at any time.
Oracles
NEO’s native oracles provide the network with verified external data for its smart contracts. They allow smart contracts to fetch data beyond the transactions on the network. Thanks to oracles, NEO smart contracts can read data from HTTPS and other blockchains and use this information to update their status. Oracle nodes verify that this data is legitimate before they allow the smart contract to activate.
Neo Name Service
The NEO Name Service (NNS) provides users a means to create domains that are saved on the blockchain (similar to Ethereum Name Service or ENS).
Since every domain registered as an NNS is an NFT, users can freely transfer the domain ownership to one another without having to rely on a trusted third party.
Unique Dual Token Model
Finally, it’s worth noting that NEO functions on a dual token model — NEO and GAS.
- NEO is an indivisible token used as the investment vehicle of the blockchain and can serve to access governance features of the protocol.
- GAS is used to pay for blockchain transactions, including interacting with smart contracts.
Simply holding a certain amount of NEO will automatically generate GAS in your wallet. This incentivizes developers to invest in the NEO token so that they can receive GAS for free for deploying applications. Another option is to convert NEO to GAS on an exchange that has both coins listed.
Conclusion
Neo is a powerful blockchain protocol that pioneered the PoS consensus mechanism. While its NEO and GAS tokens have seen better price action than in this bear market, a lot of investors still consider them a great investment. The NEO blockchain is following the latest developments in the industry, and its features on decentralized identity remain one of the best in its niche. If, after reading this post, you want to acquire NEO, make sure you use an anonymous crypto exchange.