Cryptocurrency wallets offer individuals the means for storing, managing, and sometimes even trading their crypto assets. Although many wallets are multicurrency storage systems that enable users to hold various cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and others, some wallets only store one cryptocurrency. By requiring complex passwords and applying other security measures such as two-factor authentication, digital wallets ensure that only the owner of the stored assets has access to the funds.
The NEON wallet is an example of a top-quality software wallet that’s used to store only cryptocurrencies that are based on the NEO blockchain such as NEO coins, GAS tokens and NEP-5 tokens. In case you’re a crypto beginner you might not be aware of the NEO blockchain, but it’s actually a huge crypto project similar to Ethereum both in terms of functionalities and its open-source approach to sharing resources with developers around the world.
Let’s take a look at the NEO cryptocurrency before we dive into the characteristics of the NEON wallet as one of the best crypto storage solutions for storing cryptos built on the NEO blockchain.
The NEO Blockchain
NEO is commonly known as China’s Ethereum, since it shares many of the same capabilities as the ETH network, such as employing smart contract functionalities and enabling programmers to develop decentralized applications (dApps). When Ethereum was launched in 2015, the numerous development resources it introduced were quite a revolutionary innovation, because anyone with some programming knowledge could launch their own dApp or execute automated smart contracts.
While NEO was initially launched in 2014 as AntShares, it was rebranded in 2017 and started a rapid development path, introducing most of the services that were first developed by Ethereum, but at a much lower cost. Ethereum GAS fees are quite high and this is what made the NEO blockchain more attractive for some developers, even though ETH remained the most popular blockchain for launching crypto tokens and dApps.
The goal of the NEO blockchain is to become a global smart economy network that runs on a distributed chain. The term “smart economy system” refers to the integration of decentralized finance (DeFi) tools and apps that make usual financial operations such as payments, loans, mortgages, staking and exchanging assets a much faster and simpler process. The fact that the NEO blockchain network eliminates the necessity for a central authority that approves and checks everything is a key factor in creating a decentralized smart economy.
NEO Cryptocurrency and Platform Features
The NEO blockchain supports two native cryptocurrencies, the NEO coin and the GAS tokens, which serve as the fuel for NEO’s blockchain operation. NEO is also used to vote on protocol updates, while GAS is used to pay for network transaction fees. Both NEO and GAS have a supply limit of 100 million coins. Out of the total supply, around half of NEO coins are kept in reserves by the developer team and are gradually distributed through smart contracts to help support the development of the NEO blockchain. Developers can also launch their own cryptos on the NEO blockchain. These cryptos are called NEP-5 tokens.
Apart from the resources for developing dApps and smart contracts, the NEO platform provides a variety of other services to its users. NEO users have access to a decentralized storage system, identification system, and an oracle system for managing and monitoring external data, which has been introduced with the NEO N3 migration of the blockchain protocol.
Additionally, NEO is a platform compatible with all major decentralized assets programming languages, allowing a broad developer community to quickly contribute to the NEO ecosystem and utilize its blockchain for launching dApps.
Here are just a couple of popular examples of NEO based dApps that illustrate the kind of apps you can create using the NEO blockchain:
- Travala is a NEO blockchain-based travel booking app that pulls information from numerous sources in order to find the best travel offers. Users only have to select a destination and Travala automatically creates a huge list of possible travel arrangements according to user parameters such as date, price and number of travellers. The app goes even further by finding accommodation options and various interesting activities for travellers at their chosen destination.
- MyWish is a NEO dApp designed to bridge the gap between programmers and people who want to utilize smart contract technology but don’t have the programming knowledge to create a contract by themselves. With MyWish, you don’t need to know to code, because the process is automated, you just need to fill in some key parameters and create a smart contract.
- Network Guru is a really versatile NEO marketing dApp that offers all sorts of marketing services through smart contract functionalities. You can initiate affiliate, referral and network marketing campaigns through Network Guru and automate the whole process.
City of Zion (COZ)
The developer community behind NEO is called City of Zion, while the governing body that manages the NEO blockchain is the NEO council. NEO is known as a blockchain with a vibrant community that really cares about the project and constantly tends to update it, filling in possible loopholes and preventing network bugs before they occur. When a NEO wallet or NEO dApp is developed or supported by the City of Zion, you can be sure that it’s a top-quality product.
The NEON Wallet
The NEON wallet is a desktop wallet created by the City of Zion NEO community. According to its creators, the wallet was developed with the goal of tackling three major issues that most cryptocurrency wallets face, which are simplicity of use, safety, and speed of transaction. All of this was accomplished while keeping it a light wallet that doesn’t require you to download the whole NEO blockchain, with a user-friendly interface, along with all of the necessary privacy and security features such as encrypted passphrases and passwords.
NEON is a free hot wallet that allows you to manage your NEO currency, GAS and NEP-5 tokens. You will also receive GAS tokens for holding NEO or NEP-5 tokens in your wallet, as well as the possibility to participate in any NEO ICOs. The wallet comes with a simple user interface and gives you complete control over your private keys.
The wallet is supported by most operating systems, including Windows, Linux and macOS. Thanks to the Ledger support, you can also integrate your NEON wallet with Ledger Nano hardware wallet devices, which is a great way to maximize the safety of your private keys. Keep in mind that in order to store NEO on a Ledger device, you need to have enough free space to install the NEO app.
Updating Your NEON Wallet
The NEON desktop wallet is regularly updated by the COZ developer team in order to constantly improve wallet functionality and performance. Therefore, it is recommended to always update your NEON wallet to the latest version.
The latest version of NEON wallet is available at Github through this link https://github.com/CityOfZion/neon-wallet/releases/.
A Few Final Words…
NEO is becoming increasingly popular with its numerous functionalities such as smart contracts and DApp development resources. The growing network of NEP5 tokens and NEO DApps are a sure sign that the NEO blockchain is here to stay, so it’s a good idea to learn how to store your NEO coins and tokens if you decide to invest some funds in the project at one point.