NEO is a next generation smart economy platform (formerly Antshares) and China's first open source blockchain that was founded in 2014, is often known as the “Ethereum of China”. What is NEO? NEO uses a smart economy approach to implement its distributed network concept. Its main objective is to digitize assets using the decentralized network of blockchain technology and digital identity. Neo’s main aim is to be the distributed network for “smart economy”. As their website states: 'Digital Assets + Digital Identity + Smart Contract = Smart Economy.' Neo was developed by Shanghai-based blockchain R&D company “OnChain” and funded by two crowdsales: first crowdsale on October 2015 sold 17.5 million NEO tokens for $550,000 and the second crowdsale sold the remaining 22.5 million NEO tokens for $4.5 million. So why NEO? Asset digitization and identity on the NEO platform essentially creates a novel way for asset registration, issuance, and circulation. This means that tangible assets like real estate, company shares or even fiat money can be digitized and traded on the NEO network, thus giving rise to a whole new economy. Its digital identity system allows for integration between the platform and the real world economy. It has custom digital identity standards that enable the creation of electronic identity data for individuals, organizations and even entities. These electronic systems use multi-layered authentication models that include facial and voice recognition as well as fingerprints. All digital assets on the platform enjoy legal protection thanks to the use of digital certificates on its public blockchain. This, in turn, guarantees trust as the system offers an indelible and unalterable record of all entities’ holdings.
Syscoin is “a global network, a distributed ledger, a decentralized database and a blockchain. It is also a cryptocurrency, an altcoin, a digital currency and a tradable token.” Originally launched in late 2014 and created through a Bitcoin fork, the current version brings us to Syscoin 2.1 and has an algorithm that allows it to be merge-mined with Bitcoin. Merge mining is simply the ability for miners to simultaneously mine two different cryptocurrencies based on the same algorithm. The project attempts to remove the middleman and put money directly back into merchants/consumers hands, eliminating hefty fees currently charged by big corporations like Amazon and eBay. To facilitate near-zero fee transactions, you can use its native cryptocurrency, Syscoin (SYS), to pay for goods on the marketplace. However, you can also pay using alternate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Zcash. Syscoin is led by a team of developers and was created by its current core developer, Sebastian Schepis. According to Proof of Developer, a website that verifies, evaluates, and ranks developer teams, Syscoin received 5 stars in 2014. Blockchain Foundry maintains Syscoin as its flagship product, with a mission to “disrupt markets by leveraging the potential of blockchain technology”. In March of 2017, Blockchain Foundry partnered with the Microsoft Azure ecosystem and is one of the founding members of the Digital Identity Foundation (DIF). Other founding members of the DIF include the likes of corporate giants such as Microsoft, Accenture, ConsenSys, and more. Syscoin’s blockchain delivers faster speeds along with lower transaction fees than its predecessor, Bitcoin. It can support 750 tps, and with the upcoming masternode release, it will support more than 300,000 tps. For now, it’s one of the cheapest cryptocurrencies regarding transaction fees (behind zero-fee transaction cryptocurrencies such as NEO and NANO), even cheaper than XRP.' Some of the features highlighted on the SysCoin website includes :- 1. Buy/Selling goods on the blockchain 2. Brokerage on the blockchain 3. Issue and trade certificates on the blockchain 4. Merged Mining