How did the crypto crash affect the NEO coin? What’s happening with its price? Read on to learn more.

Exploring the World of “Chinese Ethereum”

Following China’s hardened crackdown on cryptocurrencies, the future of Neo — “the Chinese Ethereum” — was cast into doubt. Its price plummeted from highs of $187 at its prime in 2018 to $25 at the peak of the crypto crackdown in China in 2021.

The plunge in price saw traders rushing to trade NEO to BTC and altcoins. At the same time, others were left worried about the future of the coin, once thought to eventually overtake Ethereum.

We took the time to explore the world of the Chinese Ethereum to help you understand its performance and potential future. Let’s first look at why it is considered an Ethereum knockoff.

Why Is NEO Compared to Ethereum?

Both Ethereum and Neo are open-source, community-driven blockchains where users can create and distribute dApps. Both offer users network tokens that can be used within the ecosystems.

Owing to the uncanny similarities in their core functionality, the fact that Neo entered the market two years after Ethereum and China’s penchant for copying technologies already existing in the West, a lot of people started labeling Neo the Chinese Ethereum.

To further understand how NEO works and the similarities to Ethereum, here is a look at the NEO Ecosystem:

What Comprises the Neo Ecosystem

NEO offers a one-stop shop for decentralized application development under its All-In-One concept. The concept encompasses Neo’s services, which include smart contract development, decentralized storage, native oracles, Neo Name service, Sovereign ID, one block finality, and multi-language support.

The multi-language support feature stands out because it distinguishes NEO from Ethereum by making the development of smart contacts and other decentralized solutions more developer-friendly. NEO allows developers to integrate smart contracts with the platform using high-level programming languages they are familiar with.

NEO supports Java, C#, Golang, Python, and Typescript. This is in stark contrast to Ethereum, which supports development only in Solidity.

The other services like domain name services, one block finality, and Sovereign ID are all bespoke business-specific innovations introduced in NEO N3 to give the platform a slight edge over Ethereum.

Another proprietary feature in the Neo Ecosystem that traders need to be aware of is the Neo dual token model.

NEO & GAS — Dual Token Model

Unlike most blockchain platforms that only offer a single token model for users within their ecosystems (e.g Bitcoin), NEO has a dual token model. Users get two types of tokens. NEO gives holders the right to choose NEO Council leaders. GAS is the currency needed to transact on the NEO network.

With the dual token model, users can transact within the network without worrying about losing their right to vote for the leaders of the ecosystem. This mechanism helps incentivize the platform much better as traders and holders of the NEO tokens have a higher sense of ownership within the platform.

Projects like Ethereum have only one token, and users don’t have as much say in governing activities that are crucial to the performance of the platform.

Now that we have understood NEO’s ecosystem, let’s figure out how it is performing in the wake of the Chinese ban on cryptos.

NEO Performance 2022: Any Progress Since the Last Year?

Neo, just like other cryptocurrencies, has suffered the effects of the crypto slump of 2022, and it is down 72% compared to this time last year. In August 2021, the coin was retaining at about $56 while it is trading at about $12 in August 2022.

Narrowing down the progress to the month, however, paints a picture of hope. NEO is up 48% in August, rallying from $8 to the current price of $12. If the projections are anything to go by, the coin is expected to close the year at about $20.

What Do Experts Say About NEO Potential?

As for long-term projections, Ambcrypto predicts a price of $320 by 2030. PricePrediction projects Neo’s price at $50 in 2025, translating to $330 by 2030, which is consistent with Ambcrypto’s prediction.

Should You Invest in NEO

If you are looking for a long-term steady investment, Neo is a good option as per the industry expert predictions. To get some NEO, you can exchange other cryptocurrencies on decentralized exchanges. You can not only convert your digital assets there but check comparisons of top cryptos like ETH vs BTC, among others, for you to make the best possible decision.