Neo

Neo is a term with multiple uses across languages and fields. In linguistics, neo- is a Greek-origin prefix meaning “new,” and it is combined with other roots to form terms such as neoclassical, neogenesis, and neofuturism.

As a given name or nickname, Neo appears in various cultures. The best-known contemporary reference is the fictional character Neo (Thomas A. Anderson) from The Matrix film series, portrayed by Keanu Reeves. In the story, Neo is a hacker who becomes a central figure in a rebellion against intelligent machines.

In technology and business, NEO denotes a blockchain platform and cryptocurrency. The project began as AntShares and was rebranded to NEO in 2017. It aims to enable smart contracts, digital identities, and asset digitization on a distributed network. NEO uses two native tokens: NEO, which represents governance rights and investor stake, and GAS, which is used to pay for transactions and to power smart contracts. The platform employs a delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) consensus mechanism to achieve network agreement.

The term Neo also appears in various other contexts as part of names, titles, or descriptive phrases, reflecting the broader use of neo- as meaning “new.” In all uses, Neo conveys a sense of novelty or modernization, ranging from language construction to popular culture and blockchain technology.