NEO: how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- Layer-1 smart contract platform with a dual-token model (NEO and GAS)
- Maximum supply
- 100 million NEO, all created at genesis; NEO is indivisible
- Risks and caveats
- Blocks are produced by a small set of consensus nodes drawn from a 21-member council elected by NEO holders.
- Checked
- 28 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- NEO
- Network
- own blockchain
- Launched
- 2016-10
- Official site
- neo.org
- Whitepaper
- github.com/AntShares/AntShares/wiki
- Source code
- github.com/neo-project/neo
Data: CoinGecko, 2026-10-27. Only projects that still trade with meaningful volume are listed.
What is NEO
Neo is an open-source smart contract blockchain founded in 2014 as Antshares and renamed Neo in 2017. It uses two tokens: NEO, an indivisible token for governance votes, and GAS, which pays network fees; the current version, Neo N3, adds native storage, oracles and a name service.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer-1 smart contract platform with a dual-token model (NEO and GAS) |
| Consensus | Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT 2.0); blocks need a two-thirds majority of consensus nodes, giving single-block finality |
| Launched | MainNet launched in October 2016; source code published in July 2015 |
| Smart contracts | Yes, executed in NeoVM |
| Programming language | C#, Python, Go, TypeScript and Java |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | 100 million NEO, all created at genesis; NEO is indivisible |
| Initial distribution | About 50% reserved by the Neo Foundation for ecosystem development |
| Issuance | 5 GAS created per block, mostly paid to NEO holders who vote |
| Fee burn | System fees in GAS are burned; network fees go to consensus nodes |
What NEO is used for
- NEO: one token is one vote to elect the 21-member Neo Council, which includes the consensus nodes.
- GAS: pays for transactions, smart contract execution and storage.
- NEO holders who vote receive the largest share of newly generated GAS.
Who develops and governs NEO
- Founders
- Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang
- Foundation
- Neo Foundation sets overall goals and funds independent groups
- Developer
- Neo Foundation, core developers, Neo Global Development (NGD) and sponsored community groups
- Governance
- NEO holders elect a 21-member Neo Council that sets parameters such as system fees and elects oracle nodes
- Open source
- Yes, MIT licence
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Founded by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang as Antshares. |
| July 2015 | Original source code published on GitHub. |
| October 2016 | MainNet launches. |
| 2017 | Antshares is rebranded as Neo with Smart Contracts 2.0. |
| 2021 | Upgrade to Neo N3, with native oracles, storage, name service and on-chain governance. |
Security and audits
- dBFT consensus gives single-block finality, so confirmed transactions cannot be reversed by a fork.
Risks and caveats
- Blocks are produced by a small set of consensus nodes drawn from a 21-member council elected by NEO holders.
- About half of all NEO was reserved by the Neo Foundation at genesis.
- The project states that some centralised coordination is needed to reach its goals.
Official links
- Website: neo.org
- Docs: docs.neo.org
- Source code: github.com/neo-project/neo
- Governance: neo.org/gov
Questions and answers
What is NEO?
NEO is the governance token of the Neo smart contract blockchain. Holders vote for the Neo Council and receive GAS, the token used to pay network fees.
Who created Neo?
Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang founded Neo in 2014 as Antshares; it was renamed Neo in 2017.
What is the maximum supply of NEO?
There are 100 million NEO, all created at genesis. NEO cannot be divided into smaller units.
How does Neo reach consensus?
Neo uses delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT 2.0): a two-thirds majority of consensus nodes must agree, so each block is final once confirmed.
Sources
- CoinGecko — NEO
- Neo — Neo Defined
- Neo — NEO & GAS
- Neo — Technology
- Neo — Governance
- Neo — GitHub repository
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