If you’re at all familiar with cryptocurrency, you probably know what Ethereum is. When you perform a transaction with Ethereum, a certain amount of “gas” is associated with the amount of work that transaction needs to be completed, and the amount of gas determines the number of ether tokens that must be paid as the fee. NEO, Ethereum’s Chinese competitor, has their own version of this special unit, which they (coincidentally) call NeoGAS, and its price has recently started to go up.

More and more, people are starting to get onboard with NEO and NeoGAS, making it something everyone who’s involved with cryptocurrency should know about. Feel free to use this handy little guide to get an idea of what NeoGAS is, how it works, how you can earn it, and how you can maximize your investment in it. More great coins of 2024 to invest in can be read about here.

What Is NeoGAS?

When you perform a transaction, no matter how small, you’re using up processing power. If everyone performed as many transactions as they liked with no consequences, networks would shut down and then no one would be able to have access to the blockchain platform in question. To mitigate this, Ethereum devised a system involving “gas,” a unit of measurement that rose or fell with the amount of “work” that a transaction with Ethereum required, so that it discourages large numbers of unnecessary (and network-dragging) transactions being done at one time. In a way, it’s like a “fee” for each action that is associated with an amount of ether tokens. That’s how the Ethereum system stays in equilibrium.

NEO, China’s answer to Ethereum, has devised their own version and called it NeoGAS. The more NeoGAS you have, the larger the transactions you can do. Seeing as NEO has begun to climb the charts in the cryptocurrency world, their NEO coin has started to gain in popularity, drawing more users, and with more users, the importance of NeoGAS has never been more evident.

What is Neo?

If NeoGAS is the pistons and gears, NEO is the machine. NEO is a blockchain project that started in China years ago as AntShares, which was based on the idea of creating a blockchain ecosystem where things could be traded securely, with tracking information built into each transaction, as well as a powerful identity system where people could sign things digitally and have things be safe and traceable in case anything goes wrong.

What started it? China passed a resolution in 2005 allowing digital signatures for documents, but there were lots of rules for how those signatures could be verified. So AntShares was started as a way to come up with a blockchain-based way to maintain identity information in a way that complied with the Chinese government’s regulations.

As of 2024, AntShares changed its name to NEO. Same company, different name, different logo.

NEO isn’t the only platform offering an alternative to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Check out this list of hot new coins to invest in in 2024.

 

What’s the Difference Between NeoGAS and NEO?

Let’s make sure we all know the difference between the two tokens used in the NEO system.

The NEO token itself isn’t a currency, per se. Instead it gives you a certain amount of “stake” in the NEO system and how it’s managed, including the right to vote on who gets to bookkeep for the next block in the chain. There’s a set limit – 100 million – and they are not divisible into smaller parts. 1 NEO is the lowest amount of the token you can have. Owning more NEO entitles you to more NeoGAS when a new blockchain is created (typically between 15 and 25 secs).

NeoGAS tokens, just like with Ethereum gas, are the tokens with which transactions on the NEO network are “paid” for. Think of it as a resource that keeps everything functioning smoothly, whose value is tied directly to how popular and widely-used NEO is.

Why are there two coins? The founders of NEO wanted to make sure that the the value of NeoGAS wasn’t connected with NEO so that you don’t have to own NEO to use the platform.

What Does NEO Do?

Obviously NeoGAS is important, but before you get involved in buying or accumulating NeoGAS, it’s probably good to know what exactly it’s good for, and for that, we have to explain what NEO does.

The focus of NEO since its beginning as AntShares has been digital assets, which they’ve wanted to make in a way that’s not only secure and open for all to view, but hard to copy or steal. What kind of assets are we talking about? There’s two main kinds.

The first is the global asset, something that anyone can look at and which can be shared far and wide, including in both projects and contracts. You can store them and make them as accessible (or inaccessible) as you want.

The second kind is the contract asset. These are only involved in direct person-to-person contact, particularly when exchanging information that’s personal or need to be kept private in some way. They can only be accessed by people who are given explicit permission to use them.

As we mentioned earlier, there’s also the issue of personal identity that has been a central part of the service’s goals since inception. When things are fully-realized, you’ll be able to not only submit facial features and fingerprints, but also voice samples and other personal ways to directly verify your identity. Once it’s verified with the blockchain, those resources can then be transferred to the system to be used for digital signatures and smart contracts. Other altcoins, some of which support smart contracts, made our list of the Top Altcoins of 2024.

New Features for NEO

Currently, NEO is developing some new advanced feature for its platform.

The first is NeoX. This is the feature which NEO plans for to allow communication between NEO and other blockchains. That’s right: no need to work solely on NEO. If you’ve already begun work with or have information encoded in another blockchain, you can link that blockchain to NEO (or vice-versa) and maintain stability and consistency of information, making sure that no transaction record is lost.

The second is NeoFS. This is going to be a way to store and share files using the smart contract system, so that contracts could include transferring files as a part of the transaction.

The last is called NeoQS. Instead of being a feature users can take advantage of, it is instead an added feature to the NEO system as a whole. NeoQS is their plan to make the NEO network invincible against hacks and attacks from quantum computers. While technically these are fears that are still in the realm of science fiction, NEO is planning to make sure to plan ahead and make sure that if such attacks ever happen, NEO will be able to resist them.

NeoGAS vs NEO

These tokens are both part of the NEO system, but they don’t have the same use. NeoGAS is the currency used to power the contracts and transactions done in the NEO platform, something which can be bought with other currencies. NEO, on the other hand, is a token that gives someone a certain amount of “stake” in the NEO system, giving people the right to vote on network changes and to vote for blockchain developers. Owning NEO gives people a right to NeoGAS when it’s mined, too: when a new blockchain is mined, a certain amount of NeoGAS is then dispersed equally to all owners of NEO tokens.

NeoGAS vs Gas

Both of these units serve similar functions in their respective systems, but they’re not exactly equivalent. While both of them make up the way that the “fees” are calculated for each transaction in NEO and Ethereum, NeoGAS is a “currency” of sorts that can be bought and sold, while gas merely makes up the way the fee is quantified. NeoGAS is the currency, while gas is payed for by Ethereum’s currency, ether. Both of them are separate from their respective platform’s main tokens, but they are interrelated in different ways that gives them different value and use.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you know where to buy NeoGAS?
   Right now, the only place you can buy NeoGAS is on Binance, a cryptocurrency market that allows people to trade in 8 different available cryptocurrencies.
2. Is NeoGAS a “coin”?
   In a way, yes. NeoGAS functions in a way like a currency, although it would be better referred to as a token.
3. Can you get NeoGAS on Bittrex?
   Currently no, it doesn’t look like you can buy NeoGAS at Bittrex. The only exchange where we’re aware you can buy NeoGAS is Binance.
4. Is there a NeoGAS Reddit?
   You can generally find a subreddit for any and all categories and services related to cryptocurrency on Reddit, yes.
5. How easy is it to trade in NeoGAS on Binance?
   Very easy. In fact, with the growing number of people who are trading in it, it’s more simple than ever.
6. What is the current price of NeoGAS?
   For the answer to that question, you will have to keep an eye on the markets. Why can’t we answer this question? Prices can fluctuate from moment to moment, so whatever price we quote you will almost definitely not be the same by the time you check in with the marketplace.
7. What’s the difference between NEO vs GAS?
   If you’d like to know the answer to this question, feel free to check out the section above where we compare and contrast these two tokens.
8. What is NeoGAS?
   In short, it’s a currency with which to pay for the ability to conduct transactions and contracts using the NEO blockchain platform.
9. Do you know where to sell NeoGAS?
   Since the only place to trade in NeoGAS is at Binance, you’re most likely to have luck there.
10. Do you know how to get NeoGAS?
    There are two main ways to acquire NeoGAS. First, you can buy it directly at Binance. The second way is to own NEO tokens, which entitle you to a percentage of all new NeoGAS tokens released when a new blockchain is discovered.
11. What’s the difference between NeoGAS and KuCoin?
    NeoGAS is a token used in the NEO blockchain platform, while KuCoin is an exchange where people can trade in different cryptocurrencies. Both are based in China.
12. Is there a NeoGAS wallet?
    Yes, users of NEO have a NeoGAS wallet where their NeoGAS tokens are placed, either when they are bought or when they’re earned.
13. Do you know how to claim NeoGAS?
    There’s no need to “claim” it as such. When you earn NeoGAS, it will be dispersed to your NeoGAS wallet.

Conclusion

NEO is a brand-new platform for conducting blockchain transactions, and with the way its founders have directed it, it looks like it could be a formidable force in the Asian blockchain market. Since it’s not limited to just being a cryptocurrency, its system could be implemented in ways as diverse as corporate transaction histories to  government tax collection. Everything from simple contracts and exchanges of information to purchases and trading of physical and digital items could be simplified and made safer, more user-friendly, and more resistant to copying or piracy, and it would be thanks to NEO

And since NeoGAS is the oil that runs NEO, it’s an important resource that people have started to pick up on, leading to its growing price and the increasing number of people who are buying it and using it. The more NeoGAS you have, the more you can do, making it a commodity that has real value in the NEO network and for all its users.

Ethereum is no longer the only blockchain platform that utilizes its abilities for multiple uses – now, NEO has become considered a serious competitor, and its future could tie directly into how NeoGAS performs in the marketplace. Want to learn more about alternative coins to Bitcoin and Ethereum? Read our new picks for the Top Altcoins of 2024.