NEO Is Aiming To Build A Smart Economy

In March 2017, there were approximately 700 different cryptocurrencies. Today, that number has more than doubled. This trend spotlights the increased enthusiasm for the industry and its accelerated growth over the last twelve months. However, despite such proliferation, there are questions about how many cryptocurrencies in total can be justified given the nascence of the industry.





Each cryptocurrency represents a product, technology or platform aimed at solving a problem punctuated by centralized systems. Tellingly, though, not every cryptocurrency is able to show the traction that supports the viability of their visions. The industry seems overbalanced by enthusiasm with material progress from projects still working to catch up.

However, one project in particular, that is signaling its early legitimacy is China’s largest cryptocurrency, NEO.





NEO, formerly founded as AntShares in 2014, is building a smart economy that aims to make ownership of non-digital assets more transparent, verifiable and universally connected. According to the cryptocurrency’s white paper, it seeks to do this by digitizing, “real-world assets… enabling registration, depository, transfer, trading, clearing and settlement via a peer-to-peer network.”





Specifically, this will involve recording the ownership of everyday assets such as houses, vehicles or any physical possessions on the blockchain. By digitizing these assets, their ownership can be linked to digital identities via smart contracts. This facilitates what NEO hopes will develop into a “smart economy” by affording a layer of immutability and accessibility not previously possible under the status quo.





In my recent conversation with Da Hongfei, Founder of NEO, he echoed the core objective of the platform and what his team is focussed on building.



