What is NEO crypto and what does it do?

NEO crypto is the main token of Neo, a blockchain for smart contracts and digital assets that started in China in 2014. Holding NEO lets you vote on who runs the network, and it slowly earns you GAS, the second token you spend to use the chain. The two-token design is the main thing that sets Neo apart from most other networks.

What is the Neo blockchain?

Neo was founded by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang in 2014 under the name AntShares and rebranded to Neo in June 2017. Its developer docs describe it as a network that uses blockchain and digital identity to put assets on-chain and manage them with smart contracts.

The network reached a major reset with Neo N3, whose mainnet went live on August 2, 2021, with a new starting block. Holders of the older chain, now called Neo Legacy, were given a migration period with bonus incentives to move their NEO and GAS across.

Neo reaches agreement with delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT). A speaker node proposes a block, and it is committed once more than two thirds of the consensus nodes agree. Because blocks need that agreement, the docs say committed blocks are final and forks are not expected. For how this compares with other designs, see what is a consensus mechanism.

What does NEO crypto do?

According to Neo.org, 100 million NEO were created at genesis, and roughly half was set aside by the Neo Foundation for ecosystem development. NEO cannot be split; the smallest unit is one whole NEO.

NEO's job is governance. Holders vote for a 21-member council, and the top seven council members act as the consensus nodes that produce blocks. Voting and registering as a candidate are open to anyone.

GAS is the fuel. Sending transactions, deploying contracts and using services such as oracles all cost GAS. Neo.org says 5 GAS is created in each block. Part of it goes to NEO holders simply for holding, with a larger share for those who vote. System fees are burned, while network fees go to consensus nodes. Unlike NEO, GAS can be divided into small fractions.

What is a NEO crypto wallet?

A NEO wallet is any crypto wallet that supports the Neo N3 network. Neo.org lists full-node software (Neo-GUI and Neo-CLI), community wallets such as Neon Wallet, NeoLine and OneGate, and multi-chain wallets, plus Ledger hardware support. The list is a directory, not an endorsement.

One detail matters here. The docs note that some exchanges pass GAS on to customers who hold NEO and others keep it. Holding NEO in a wallet you control is how you make sure the GAS it generates goes to you. Every N3 transaction also needs a small amount of GAS for fees, so a wallet with NEO but no GAS cannot send anything.

As of October 2026, Neo N3 is the active network, and the Neo Legacy chain is no longer the main one.