NEO is dubbed by many as the “Chinese Ethereum”. And with Ethereum struggling throughout 2018’s bear market, it may be that NEO can make moves to become the #1 smart contract platform in the blockchain sphere. Or at least the most valuable smart contract cryptocurrency.

Despite its high profile and rabid fanbase, NEO is not as widely available as other large cap coins. It is possible, though, if you know where to go. This guide is going to take you through a step-by-step process of buying NEO on the Bittrex Exchange .

What is NEO?

NEO is a smart contract platform, much like Ethereum, EOS or Cardano. Their idea is to enable people to build decentralized applications, to support areas such as digital identity and industrial uses of the blockchain. There have already been a number of successful ICOs and blockchain projects built upon the NEO network, by a passionate base of NEO developers.

The biggest point of difference for NEO over other platforms is its token model. For a start, the NEO token is non-divisible. This means you can only trade whole tokens – tokens can’t be split into 0.5 or 0.25 NEO, for example, as you can with tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

To enable microtransactions on the NEO platform, it has a secondary token, GAS, which is used to pay for things such as usage fees (like ETH is on Ethereum). People who hold NEO will steadily earn GAS proportionate to their NEO holdings, making a NEO investment also a way to earn a passive crypto income.

Instead of a token supply that is always increasing, as with mining currencies like Bitcoin, NEO has a fixed supply of 100 million tokens. Hence, as the network grows and sees more use, the token will naturally rise in value due to scarcity.

Now, let’s see how to start investing in NEO.

Step 1: Register on Bittrex

If you haven’t already, you will have to sign up for a Bittrex account. Click “Sign Up” on their homepage to begin.

Step 2: Verify your account

Before you can start trading, Bittrex requires you to verify your account.

You’ll need to create a profile, including your name, birthdate and residential address. You’ll also have to submit one form of identification (passport, driver’s license or national ID) and a current selfie.

The process is usually very short, and can take as little as a few minutes to be successfully verified. Though the site says it can take up to 24 hours in some cases.

Step 3: Deposit Bitcoin or Ethereum

Few places allow you to purchase NEO for Fiat currencies such as USD or EUR, and that includes Bittrex. So you’ll have to purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum first, and then trade for NEO.

If you don’t have either of these coins, people from most places in the world can buy with a credit or debit card on Coinmama , Changelly or Coinbase .

Once you have Bitcoin or Ethereum, you’ll need to transfer your coins to your Bittrex account. To do this, click on “Wallets” on the top navigation bar.

The next page will show all your individual wallet balances on Bittrex. Search for the coin you wish to deposit (BTC, for example). Click the green icon next to the coin’s name to make a deposit.

If it’s the first time you’ve deposited this type of coin, you’ll need to generate a wallet address. Click “New Address”, and wait a few moments as Bittrex creates a new wallet for you. Once it is complete, copy the wallet address as the sending address for your Bitcoin/Ethereum.

Depending on the network load, you may have to wait several moments to see the coins in your Bittrex wallet.

Step 4: Find the BTC or ETH pair For NEO on Bittrex Exchange

Once your deposit is complete, go into the Bittrex Exchange to trade for NEO.

Click on “Markets” to go to the exchange screen.

Coins with USD pairs will be listed at the top. Scroll down to the “Bitcoin Markets” section (or “Ethereum Markets”, if you are trading with Ethereum). Enter “NEO” in the search bar, and a pair for NEO will show up.

Click on BTC/NEO or ETH/NEO to bring up the NEO order screen.

Step 5: Choose how much NEO to buy

From the trading screen, scroll down to where it shows the option to buy or sell NEO. Make sure “Buy” is selected.

You will have several order options. The default option is “Limit” – you put in how much NEO you want to buy, for how much, and Bittrex will try to make that trade. Alternatively, you can choose a “Conditional” order. This means you choose how much NEO to buy, and tell Bittrex to only make the trade if the price is lower than/greater than the price you specify.

For a Limit Order:

Set the amount of NEO you want to buy

Set your “Bid Price” – the cost in BTC/ETH at which you want to buy (select “Last” to take the most recent price)

Check the amount of BTC/ETH your order will cost (that you have enough funds to cover the order)

Choose how long you want Bittrex to try and make your order. They will only be able to make your trade if someone else is trading in the other direction (i.e. NEO-BTC or NEO-ETH). The default option means Bittrex will keep trying to find a trading partner until your total order is completed, or you cancel the order. Otherwise, you can choose to cancel the order if it can’t be completed straight away.

Conditional orders work the same way. The only difference is to choose your condition (Greater Than Or Equal To, or Less Than Or Equal To).

Be aware that Bittrex has a withdrawal fee of 0.025 NEO. Since NEO is a non-divisible cryptocurrency, you will only be able to take out a whole number. If you hold 100 NEO, for example, it will become 99.975 NEO with the transaction fee, which you won’t be able to take out.

Keeping this in mind, add 0.025 on to the amount of NEO you want to buy, to ensure you can withdraw the total amount in your wallet later.

Step 6: Buy NEO!

Once you’ve finalized the conditions of your trade, click “Buy NEO”. And you’re done! Bittrex will notify you once your trade has been completed successfully.

Step 7: Withdraw your NEO tokens to a secure NEO wallet (and start earning GAS!)

The best practice in crypto is always to hold your coins in a secure wallet, off an exchange, when not trading. This is even more important for NEO, as it allows you to earn GAS (free money!!!) just from holding NEO.

To withdraw your coins, you’ll need a wallet that supports NEO (and GAS). The most secure option is a hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano S . A cheaper option is the NEON wallet , a desktop wallet for Windows, Mac and Linux, made by NEO developer group the City of Zion.

To make a withdrawal from Bittrex, click on “Wallets”. Now search for NEO – the wallet should show the new balance with your newly purchase NEO coins. Click the red symbol to withdraw.

From the next screen, put in the amount of NEO you want to take out (remember it can only be whole units), and the destination address (from your NEO wallet). Check the address is correct, and click “Withdraw NEO” to complete.

So that’s it! Now you know how to buy NEO on the popular Bittrex Exchange. See here for our guide on buying NEO from the Binance Exchange .

Andrew is a writer and digital marketer from New Zealand, now based out of South East Asia. Along with his work in many areas of the e-commerce space, Andrew has a keen interest in cryptocurrency, especially altcoins and projects focused on mainstream crypto adoption