NEO Crypto Trading Guide: How to Trade the NEOUSD

NEO, often referred to as "the Ethereum of China", is one of the early rivals to Ethereum. It is recognised for being compliant with regulations and is one of the select cryptocurrencies authorised to function in China.

Main Points:

• NEO was founded in 2014 with a mission to build a decentralised, data-driven smart economy with secure digital assets and identities and automated smart contracts.
• NEO operates with a dual token system. NEO is the governance token, while GAS is the utility token.
• NEO ICOs were priced at $0.032 in 2015 and $0.2 in 2016. Its price later reached an all-time high of $196.85 in January 2018.
• NEO can be bought and sold directly on cryptocurrency exchanges or traded via contracts for difference (CFDs) on platforms like Plus500.

What Is NEO?

NEO is a blockchain platform designed to create a digital ecosystem where assets and identities are managed and interacted with using smart contracts. NEO's primary objective is to build a decentralised, smart and data-driven economy where:

• Digital assets are seamlessly managed and traded.
• Digital identities are verified and protected, ensuring privacy and security.
• Smart contracts automate processes, reducing costs and inefficiencies.

This vision aligns with the broader idea of a smart economy, where technology enhances everyone's quality of life by making processes more efficient, transparent, and accessible.

An Overview of NEO Cryptocurrency

The NEO project clearly separates governance and utility functions by offering a dual token model consisting of two separate tokens: NEO and GAS.

• NEO is the token in which holders have ownership of the network and are involved in the network governance, such as voting on proposals.
• GAS is the utility token that fuels the network's operations. It is used to pay service charges, smart contract setups, and dApp acquisition fees.

Without staking, GAS rewards are passively distributed to NEO holders who actively participate in voting. This dual token model allows NEO holders to benefit from both ownership and passive income.

How Does NEO Blockchain Work?

NEO offers a variety of features and tools for developers to create decentralised applications (dApps) with advanced interoperability across the global blockchain ecosystems. These features include:

• PoS Consensus Mechanism: Neo combines a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism with a delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) protocol to ensure that transactions are finalised quickly and efficiently within a single block of up to 10,000 transactions per second.
• Oracle Integration: Neo has a built-in Oracle that allows secure access to off-chain data, enabling smart contracts to interact with real-world information outside the blockchain.
• Decentralised Storage: NEO offers a distributed data storage solution (NeoFS) that provides scalability and privacy for decentralised data management.
• Flexible Smart Contracts: NEO's platform allows developers to create decentralised applications (dApps) using NeoContracts, a unique smart contract written in common programming languages like C#, Go, Python, Java, and TypeScript. This flexibility enables a wider range of dApp development options without the need to learn new, specialised languages.
• Decentralised Identity: NeoID is a set of self-sovereign decentralised identity standards, enabling users to manage their identity securely and independently.
• Domain Name Service: Neo Name Service provides a decentralised .neo domain service, allowing developers to create and manage domain names for web3 applications.
• Interoperability: Through Poly.Network, Neo offers cross-chain interoperability and interactions with other blockchains such as Ethereum, Binance Chain, and others.

The History and Milestones of NEO Cryptocurrency

Founding Year: NEO was established in 2014 under the original name Antshares by Da HongFei and Erik Zhang. The project was created to establish the concept of the "smart economy."

Antshares ICO: Antshares (ANS) conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2014, securing over 6,000 Bitcoin in funding.

NEO Rebrand: In 2017, the name "Antshares" was changed to Neo (NEO). NEO is derived from the Greek word for "new" or "young." As such, Neo positions itself as the gateway to a new smart economy capable of processing up to 10,000 transactions per second.

NEO ICO: NEO held its first ICO in October 2015, selling 17.5 million tokens at $0.032 each. In September 2016, NEO held its second crowd-sale, selling 22.5 million tokens at $0.20 each.

NEO Genesis Block: During the creation of the NEO Genesis Block in 2016, 100 million NEO tokens were pre-mined as the maximum supply. By June 2019, about 70 million tokens were in circulation.

NEO All-time High: After the third ICO in 2016, priced at $0.2, NEO reached a peak price of $196.85 in January 2018 but declined the following year. In 2019, NEO traded at around $18 with a market capitalisation of $1.267 billion.

Neo 2.0 Upgrade: After four years of stable MainNet operation, in 2018, NEO announced a major protocol upgrade to Neo 3.0. It was officially launched in September 2021 and was expected to be the most fully equipped version of the Neo blockchains.

What Are The Factors Affecting NEO Cryptocurrency

• NEO's underlying technology and its ability to efficiently execute smart contracts and support decentralised applications drive its value.
• NEO coins' versatility, including their use for staking, payments, and investments, contributes to their intrinsic value.
• NEO prices are often influenced by the broader cryptocurrency market.
• Increasing adoption by developers and businesses using NEO's platform can drive demand and value.
• NEO's fixed supply of 100 million coins can lead to scarcity, potentially driving up its price over time. Given its anti-inflationary design, NEO could serve as a long-term store of value.
• Neo's connection to China can be both beneficial and risky. While government support can provide legitimacy, regulatory changes could negatively impact the project.
• The indivisibility of NEO tokens limits their usability for smaller transactions, making them less convenient than divisible cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

How to Trade NEO?

On cryptocurrency exchanges or digital wallets, you can buy NEO in anticipation that their price will appreciate and you can sell your NEO holdings if you anticipate the price of NEO to depreciate.

However, on CFD platforms like Plus500, you can trade contracts for differences (CFDs) on NEO cryptocurrency. Trading NEO CFDs you can gain exposure from both its rising and falling prices without owning the coin itself. By opening long or short positions on NEO/USD CFDs, you potentially profit or lose from either price increases or decreases. Trading NEOUSD CFDs also involves leverage, which can amplify profits and increase risks and losses.

NEO Trading Hours

In contrast to traditional markets like stocks and forex, the cryptocurrency market provides round-the-clock trading opportunities for traders to gain exposure on NEO price movements. Plus500 makes NEO CFD trading* available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends (except a one-hour break on Sundays).

*Please note that trading hours may vary depending on the platform provider.

Steps to Buy and Sell NEO CFDs

To trade NEOUSD CFDs with Plus500, follow these steps:

• Get started by signing up for a Plus500 trading account.
• Explore the platform's user-friendly interface and advanced trading tools.
• Find the "NEO/USD" pair in the list of available cryptocurrencies.
• Assess the NEO/USD price trends to make informed trading decisions.
• Decide on the number of NEO CFD contracts to buy or sell.
• Set stop-loss and take-profit levels to manage your risk.
• Confirm your buy or sell order.

Conclusion

NEO stands out as a robust blockchain platform that fosters a smart economy through its innovative use of smart contracts and digital identities. With its dual token model, NEO provides both governance and utility functions, offering users the benefits of ownership and passive rewards. As the platform continues to evolve, NEO presents a compelling opportunity for developers and crypto traders. However, its value is influenced by factors such as market trends, adoption, and regulatory developments.

Ready to trade NEO CFDs? You can open a demo or live account and start trading NEO CFDs with Plus500.