Open-Source Network’s Partnerships to Deliver ‘Next-Gen Internet’

An open-source network says it is cultivating exciting partnerships that will help build the next generation of the internet — as well as creating solutions to tackle the current roadblocks to mass adoption of blockchain.

Neo says its goal is to bring digital identities, digital assets and smart contracts in one place, leading to the creation of a smart economy. A big milestone is looming for the project as the finishing touches are added to the third iteration of its blockchain network — and as reported by Cointelegraph back in August, a detailed roadmap has been outlined as Neo vies to fuel growth in its ecosystem.

The company has also announced that it has joined the .NET Foundation — a Microsoft-created initiative — as its first-ever blockchain project. It is hoped that the collaboration will deliver a “developer-friendly blockchain infrastructure for .NET developers,” contribute to mass adoption, and help Neo realize its vision of providing a next-gen internet for all.

Partnerships already delivering results

The project recently unveiled its EcoBoost program, an initiative designed to provide marketing, wallet integration, liquidity, security audits and a payment gateway to crypto startups that align well with its vision. Given how Neo already boasts millions of community members, which includes a global network of experts, as well as the capacity to offer comprehensive support to developers, the scheme has already proven to be a compelling proposition — attracting the involvement of more than 100 participants.

Some of these partnerships have already been paying dividends. Earlier in September, Neo and Celer Network formally kicked off their collaboration — a venture that has been described as “win-win” for both parties. While Neo stands to benefit from Celer’s technology, which will “significantly expand the scalability and usability of its decentralized applications,” Celer has the opportunity to tap into Neo’s “diverse dApps ecosystem.”

Another tie-up has also been formalized with MixMarvel, a blockchain-powered game publishing platform that’s in operation around the world. Together, both parties are going to launch Ground Hunter by the end of this year — a title that has the ambition of becoming one of the blockchain market’s debut large-scale first-person shooter games. One of the biggest hurdles that Neo and MixMarvel alike are determined to tackle is how many blockchain games have struggled to unlock mass adoption — with user experience and gameplay so far failing to surpass what’s offered by mainstream titles.

Elsewhere, there has been great buzz surrounding CryptoFast, a racing game that’s based on the Neo network. Here, players have the freedom to build and customize cars before putting them through their paces in races. Assets are stored as nonfungible tokens that can be viewed in a specially created wallet. Game functionality has also been decentralized in an interesting twist, meaning that the community can engage in decision-making through votes.

New chain arrives in 2020

Neo says that its new chain is scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of next year, and freshly developed features will be gradually released for testing as soon as they are finalized.

Co-founder and core developer Erik Zhang has been clear about his ambitions for the future of Neo 3 — and says he wants to deliver the possibility of allowing major companies to run large-scale applications on blockchain technology.

Back in April 2019, he said: “In the future, we'd like to see applications such as YouTube, Alipay, and gaming giants like Tencent and Blizzard run on blockchain, and Neo 3 will allow these big organizations to do that.”

Innovations in the smart contract space are also in the pipeline for when Neo 3 launches, with the open-source project aiming to significantly reduce the costs associated with their deployment and execution. This, when coupled with a feature enabling smart contracts to access internet resources natively as they are being executed, are tipped to be the unique selling points that Neo will be banking on to stand head and shoulders above the competition.