This week, a new digital currency broke into the top 10 on Coin Market Cap.
Well, I suppose I shouldn’t say new. I should say NEO — the rebranded version of digital currency Antshares, which has been around since 2014.
We published an article a month ago that included a brief feature on NEO (then Antshares).
The article was meant to shed light on other digital currencies that were generating buzz when Ethereum began dropping in value. (As of this articles publication, Ethereum is resting around $283 after breaking $300 on August 8th).
Now, more and more people are asking about NEO. And this means that it’s time we sit down and talk about the token in a longer post.
Over the course of this blog, the following will be addressed:
- Why is NEO surging?
- What exactly is NEO?
- What exchanges host NEO?
Now, without further ado…
NEO Doubles in Price
So, what is NEO? And how exactly did it manage to catapult five spots and break the top 10 on Coin Market Cap?
As of typing this, NEO has a market cap of $182,627,000 and is sitting right below Ethereum Classic (ETC) on the Coin Market Cap list.
Earlier this month, NEO was much lower on the list. Over the last seven days, buying spiked dramatically, causing the price to surge from $8 to $19.
This means that NEO more than doubled its price in under a week. A $500 investment seven days ago would now be worth $1,000. And a $1,000 investment would now be worth $2,000.
That said, NEO buying likely spiked because of two events happening in the digital currency world:
- On August 8th, Antshares completed rebranding, launching as NEO 2.0.
- On August 10th, a conference spotlighting NEO is scheduled to take place in Tokyo. This conference should cover details about the digital currency, including projections and the technology road map.
If you are an Ethereum investor, you probably already know how news cycles influence digital currency prices.
Up 100% one day, down 20% the next…
But what is it about NEO that justifies this much investor interest?
What Is NEO?
NEO is very similar to Ethereum, which is why it’s nicknamed the “Ethereum of China.”
Founded in 2014, NEO is China’s first open-source blockchain project. Its goal was to use blockchain technology to improve commerce — ultimately transitioning away from our old economy into something the NEO team refers to as a “smart economy.”
In this smart economy, digital assets will be secure and handled efficiently.
And this has a lot of appeal for government entities and companies that are trying to increase efficiency in their spaces.
NEO has earned the support of many other blockchain companies, including Bancor, Coindash, and Agrello. It also has the (rumored) support of China’s biggest e-commerce retailer, Alibaba.
In its confirmed support corner, NEO has the backing of Red Pulse, a major Chinese research company. Red Pulse wants to use NEO to build a massive research database. This project will also release its own token that will run on the NEO network.
For investors who are still trying to wrap their heads around the diverse uses of blockchain technology, all of the above are examples of why so many corporations are scrambling to get their slices of the pie.
It has applications from e-commerce to research. And like Ethereum, NEO could have resonating effects through hundreds of industries.
NEO is taking steps to infiltrate all these sectors. It has a plan to launch a seed program in the coming months that will encourage developers to use NEO when developing their technologies.
At the moment, NEO relies on two teams to operate. One of these is a Shanghai-based development team. The other is an international team that’s referred to as the “City of Zion.”
It’s thanks to the efforts of these teams that NEO has managed to gain more mainstream acceptance and support. They’ve worked to translate NEO’s white papers and diffuse them throughout our global community.
NEO seemed to be facing some issues because of a language barrier. But with support from these teams, barriers seem to be falling, which means that NEO could gain more traction within the global digital currency community in the coming months…
What Exchanges Host NEO?
NEO can be purchased on Bittrex, using Bitcoin as the exchange token.
Bittrex is a well-known digital currency exchange that’s often mentioned alongside Kraken and Poloniex.
Unfortunately, Bittrex does not have USD trading, which means that you will have to buy and transfer Bitcoin from a different wallet.
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Quick Note: I’m not a provider of investment advice. I’m a technology writer and digital currency enthusiast. I’m always curious to know what digital currencies people are talking about. So if you want to get in touch, feel free to tweet me at @AlexandraPerryC.
