Regulatory backlashes have become a common occurrence in the cryptocurrency space. However, there are some cryptocurrencies that have proven themselves to be a hedge against most loopholes that can be found. One regulatory-friendly cryptocurrency that you will come across is Neo, which operates a smart economic system. The Neo protocol and the NEO token were introduced in response to the regulations that were introduced by the Chinese government for countering the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in the country.

Hence, the network was launched with a regulatory-friendly nature and this helped it become the first blockchain project that was able to get the approval of Chinese regulators. The nature of the Neo protocol is different from others and it is best referred to as a smart economic system that features and accommodates digitized payments, digitized assets and digitized identities. More prominently, the Neo blockchain enables developers to enjoy free entry with the freedom of building dApps according to their preferred design because it works as a distributed network.

In this way, Neo actually works more like an alternative to Ethereum (ETH) and many people regard it as a newer version of the Ethereum network. Furthermore, since it is the first blockchain project to have received the approval of the Chinese regulators, the Neo token is one of the few digital assets that can be traded in the country legally. Therefore, this cryptocurrency is often defined as the Chinese Ethereum.

Introduction of Neo

The introduction of the Neo blockchain project was born out of the desire to ensure global adoption of blockchain and to create a foundation for the internet’s succeeding generation. It was founded in China by two blockchain experts in 2014, named Erik Zhan Neo and Da Hongfei. At the time of its launch, the cryptocurrency was known as Antshares and it was the first public blockchain to be introduced in China. It was rebranded as NEO by developers after about 3 years, in the mid of 2017. The innovators aimed to provide an EcoBoost technology that would assist developers in building smart contracts and decentralized apps on the Neo blockchain.

Smart Contracts

One of the best things about Neo is that its functionality provides developers everything they need for effectively performing smart contract operations. They don’t have to deal with any complex process and can get easy entry. This means that users don’t need extensive expertise and technical knowledge for building smart contracts and applications on the network. A diverse set of coding languages is also accommodated by the Neo blockchain platform. Hence, it can be an excellent choice for developers across the industry. Neo can be used for conducting trade with digitized identities and without requiring any direct involvement.

N3

After a couple of years of operating in the crypto industry, the team behind Neo pursued an upgrade that came to be known as Neo3. This was a new governance model that was designed to provide the ecosystem with additional interoperability. A number of audit processes were conducted on the upgrade, as developers were experimenting with its potential. Testnets had to be set up for it and developers used Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ontology (ONT).

The migration to Neo3 was aimed at empowering the platform for adding more cross-chain capabilities while enhancing network security that can process more transactions per second.

Neo and Bitcoin

Even though Neo appears to be a competitor for Bitcoin, there are a number of differences between the two cryptocurrencies. First off, Bitcoin is known as a decentralized digital currency, whereas Neo’s Chinese smart contract system makes it a centralized one. In addition, the two cryptocurrencies were introduced at different times and with different types of mining processes. Bitcoin requires an ASIC mining method, whereas Neo requires no mining.

The features of the Neo blockchain are quite unique, as opposed to other blockchain networks. Its mode of functionality provides technical and infrastructural support and grants and developers can also use it for executing smart contracts and building dApps.