The Road To 100K

Here is the challenge: I will write and create Neo content weekly until the Neo blockchain hits a daily average active address count of 100,000.

Will I stop once Neo hits 100,000? I don’t know, and that’s ok. It’s not about just hitting a milestone number.

The road to 100K is about curiosity and being open to finding the answer to this question: is Neo a blockchain that people know, like, and trust?

Suppose the answer to that question is YES. That means developers will build projects on it (tying their efforts and livelihood to Neo), people will choose to invest and use it (connecting their hard-earned money and time to Neo), and that use will be consistent over some time (it’s not short term use seeking short term gains).

Suppose the answer to that question is NO. Projects won’t be built on Neo. People won’t buy NEO, GAS, or other tokens on the Neo blockchain. People won’t invest, make NFTs, play games, or generally use Neo. The chain will fizzle out and eventually fall out of the top 100 coins. Neo will die quietly in the dark.

Why 100K?

Daily active addresses (DAA) are a vital metric reflecting the growth and use of a blockchain. The figure reflects the number of unique public addresses transacting on a blockchain daily.

Think of daily active addresses like daily active website or social media app users. A social app like Facebook may have billions of accounts, but many are inactive. To determine the app's health, you can look at its daily active users over time. The higher the number, the better the state of the social media app. In the context of blockchain, the higher the number, the better the network's health.

Just like a network, the more people that use a blockchain, the more useful the blockchain becomes. A blockchain that has a lot of daily active addresses is a strong signal that it is a good choice for developers to build projects on and for people to invest in and use.

So why the 100,000 DAA metric? Currently, there are around 95,000 addresses on the Neo network. The daily active addresses have averaged less than 1% of the total number of addresses for the past month.

WOW. Not a lot of activity going on.

Hitting 100K would mean a combination of exponential growth of daily activity from existing addresses along with growth in the number of unique addresses. In other words, exponential growth in use and adoption.

Isn’t Neo Dead?

Based on the current network usage stats, it appears so. A cursory look on social media would leave you with that impression as well.

What happened to $NEO? Is NEO still around? I guess some questions about NEO are better than no questions about NEO.

This Doesn’t Seem Promising

NEO is barely within the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The price is down 93% from its all-time high (NEO is $13.51 when writing this). Network usage is less than 1% of the total addresses. Many of the projects that launched on the chain during the last cycle have stalled or come to a complete halt. Some even appear to have left. From the outside looking in, NEO appears to be indeed dead.

Yet signs of life exist. The timid murmur of a heartbeat persists. Neo is alive.

Neo has opened a new office in Hong Kong, joining hundreds of other blockchain and Web3 companies dropping anchor at the Cyberport Technology Centre. A buzz is growing there as the HK government lays the regulatory groundwork for a healthy and prosperous crypto industry. Four months ago, Neo announced the development of an EVM sidechain named “NEO X” that is already in the test net phase. The NEO price pumped more than 50% on the news. DAAs were four times higher the week after the side chain announcement than before. Community-driven projects are happening within Neo as well. From “attention-grabbing” meme coins to financial innovations to user-created NFT projects, the murmur grows into a faint hum.

NEO is primed for an “overnight success” story seven years in the making. The technical capabilities of the chain are waiting for more devs to come and make the most of it. Will users hear the NEO buzz?

More people return to the chain weekly only to discover that N3 is live. The Antshares or NEO legacy coins they bought years ago have changed. They have upgraded. NEO is different. It is better.

Is Neo a blockchain that people know, like, and trust? There are plenty of people who like and trust Neo. They have placed their time, money, and belief into the project. They understand the technical capacity of the chain and the roadmap of the projects being built on it. They have a conviction about the future.

Is Neo a blockchain that people know?

Herein lies the issue with NEO. It is a great chain. Technically capable and a better blockchain solution for many projects built on other chains. However, there is little network effect. Not enough people using the chain to attract devs and investors. Not enough people who know about NEO.

That’s why I’ve taken on the challenge. The road to 100K. Not enough people know about NEO. I am going to try to help change that.

But first, some clarification:

• I’m not an expert (as you’ll probably learn), and this isn’t financial advice. I am on the same journey of discovery about NEO as everyone else.

• I will share what I learn and be curious about finding answers to what I don’t know.

• I don’t know if NEO will get to 100K DAA, but I’m willing to find out.

NEO IS DEAD. LONG LIVE NEO.