It’s a name we haven’t heard in a while… The NEO blockchain, once considered a serious competitor to Ethereum, is back in the news these days. One of its native tokens, GAS, is exploding in price. Why is this?
The GAS of the NEO blockchain has exploded in recent weeks
Over the past 24 hours, GAS has gained +62%, continuing a series of explosive days that have taken its share price to $29. In the space of two weeks, the cryptocurrency has gained over 800%. By comparison, the Bitcoin (BTC) price posted +7% over the same period.
The gradual explosion of the NEO price in recent weeks
The price of NEO has also risen sharply, but to a lesser extent: it has “only” gained +87% over the last two weeks. As a reminder, GAS is the token that powers the NEO network: it’s used for governance, and also to pay transaction fees. It is, however, to be distinguished from Ethereum’s “gas”, which was designed with different mechanisms in mind.
Why has GAS pumped so much?
So what explains the renewed interest in GAS? It would appear that the appeal is highly localized: the data on CoinGecko shows that the majority of volume is coming from Upbit, a major Korean exchange platform. A conference dedicated to NEO will take place on November 14. It will provide an opportunity to share information on the development of the network, which has undoubtedly contributed to this localized pump.
The other reason may be a recent development in blockchain. Da Hongfei, the creator of NEO, has announced the forthcoming creation of a “sidechain”. This will be used to make the blockchain more amenable to developer projects, particularly in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi). This new project is also accompanied by a competition: participants must name this sidechain, and the winner will receive $20,000. This has certainly contributed to the current craze.
Although GAS remains far from its all-time high of $91, this lightning breakthrough is noteworthy. Will interest in NEO last? That remains to be seen, given that blockchain had become more confidential
