NEO Opens Early Bird Migration for 3.0 Mainnet

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The NEO network is preparing for a switch to its Mainnet 3.0 version, a large-scale event that will affect all assets, including NEP-5 tokens. 

To boost the new network, the NEO project has now opened early bird migration, which will allow users to gain access to the new versions of NEO and GAS. The early main net will allow staking and passive income, as well as token minting. 

Will NEO Prices Reawaken

The upcoming migration of NEO, expected sometime in the summer of 2021, produced a booster effect on NEO prices. The asset touched $130, still failing to repeat its peak levels above $200. NEO is seen as a laggard, though also having the potential for a bull run separate from other assets. 

NEO now hovers around $46, with relatively low trading volumes. The recent price hike from prices under $29 was mostly caused by the overall BTC market recovery. 

The price of the GAS asset has more than doubled in the past weeks, from around $4.50 to above $9. In the past quarter, GAS hovered in a range, stopping just under $11. 

Official Migration Scheduled for September

The official migration for NEO has been pushed back again, after a series of delays. The NEO project planned on upgrading its network since 2019, with expectations for launching in Q2, 2020. The actual migration took much longer. 

One of the problems for NEO is that the network failed to attract as much distributed apps as Ethereum. Additionally, the NEO network is secured by seven nodes, which is the least number needed to ensure no node can impersonate others and change the ledger. However, the current NEO and GAS system turned out to be incapable of covering the demands for scalability. 

NEO 3.0 is intended to add to the network’s capabilities, improve staking income and possibly bring DeFi to the NEO network, increasing its value. 

During the early bird migration, only self-chosen token holders will be able to swap their assets for NEO 3.0 and GAS 3.0. 

What are the Benefits of Early Bird Migration

The NEO 3.0 network will continue assigning GAS as a reward for staking and voting for NEO Council members. Because initially there will be less NEO votes, each early bird adopter will potentially receive higher GAS rewards. 

In the new network, 80% of the GAS generated will be distributed to NEO owners, with an economic structure for a stronger incentive. 

Currently, exchanges and multi-asset wallets do not support the early-bird migration. Instead, NEO owners will have to swap their tokens manually and pay the standard transaction fees. 

September 1 Kicks Off the Official Migration

After September 1, the NEO project expects an industry-wide migration. Currently, only NEO Line Chrome and O3 Desktop wallets will support the move to the new network. 

Exchanges will only support the official migration, as well as additional multi-asset wallets that support NEO and GAS. The mass token migration will also offer a bonus of up to 1% of all NEO staked. 

Owning NEO-based tokens now will mean each one may go through its own specific migration, as the team will have to deploy a new smart contract on Mainnet 3.0.

Is NEO a Good Investment

NEO is a relatively older coin that is now hopeful of regaining much higher valuations. The NEO network is not as active as Ethereum, though it already supports several distributed apps. 

For now, NEO projects are limited. The Flamingo DeFi app only had 381 users in the past day, based on data by DappRadar. The NEO network, however, is showing readiness to host most of the popular types of dApps, including DeFi, decentralized trading and collectibles. 

NEO is widely distributed among exchanges, with a diversified presence and multiple trading pairs. The NEO pairing on the Binance exchange is not as influential, meaning NEO cannot be easily swayed by pumps. In general, NEO price growth should happen across many markets for a price boost to become noticeable. 

The NEO network also gave start to additional token projects, most notably Ontology (ONT), which surpassed its parent network in terms of dApps and adoption. 

In the short term, NEO is subject to active trading, with speculative short-term price swings. However, NEO is also showing signs of accumulation waiting for a breakout. 

What is the NEO Council

The NEO Council will be a group of node operators that will secure the network by verifying transactions. With 21 elected representatives, the network becomes more secure. 

Thus, the NEO network will expand from its initial idea to use only seven nodes. In that respect, NEO will resemble projects like EOS or TRON (TRX), which have 21 and 26 elected node operators respectively. 

Of those 21 nodes, seven will belong to the NEO Foundation, with four more Global Development nodes and 10 community-ran nodes. A new list of node operators can be introduced by voting.

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