Smart contract platforms may have the most game-changing potential out of all projects in the crypto sphere. Blockchain is dubbed by many as the “new internet”, and everyone knows how much the internet has changed the world.
Ethereum has long been the market leader for blockchain development platforms. But they are starting to see significant competition, from projects such as EOS, Cardano and NEO. The latter, NEO, has the most passionate and dedicated community out of all of them (including Ethereum). For that reason, it warrants consideration from any crypto enthusiast.
What is NEO?
As mentioned earlier, NEO is a smart contract development platform. NEO was launched in 2014, originally as Antshares, later rebranding to NEO in 2017. The community, governed by the NEO council, is trying to create the framework for a digital economy. Their platform supports concepts like digital identity and industrial use of blockchain, as well as ICOs and decentralized applications. A list of dApps under development on the NEO blockchain can be found here.
The big difference between NEO and other smart contract platforms is the token model. The NEO token is not meant to be used for transactions and is non-divisible (meaning you can’t send 0.5 or 0.25 NEO. It has to be a whole token). Instead, the platform uses GAS as the currency for fees and service on the NEO platform. By holding NEO in your wallet you will steadily earn GAS tokens, which the Neo N3 network creates with every block. Most of the new GAS goes to holders who use their NEO to vote for Neo Council candidates, so pick a wallet that supports voting. Some exchanges pass GAS on to users who hold NEO with them, and others do not.
NEO now runs on Neo N3, the version of the blockchain that launched in 2021 to replace the original chain, now called Neo Legacy. Holders had to migrate their NEO and GAS to N3, and the Neo team scheduled the shutdown of the Neo Legacy MainNet for October 31, 2025. After the shutdown, tokens left on Legacy can no longer be moved or migrated. Binance handles NEO deposits and withdrawals on the Neo N3 network only.
In 2018, when Ethereum was going through serious struggles, some argued it may be NEO’s time to shine. We’re going to tell you how you can invest in NEO and be a part of one of the most active communities in crypto today.
At the same time, NEO is considered to be the “Chinese Ethereum” for being located in China and having many partnerships with local companies. This is also one of the reasons why this blockchain network is considered to be centralized.
In early October 2026, NEO ranked 204th by market capitalization on CoinGecko.
Step 1: Register on Binance
Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market. According to CoinGecko, it was the largest exchange by 24-hour trading volume in early October 2026.
One of the main benefits of buying NEO on the Binance exchange is that the platform has one of the highest liquidity for altcoins. For example, in the 24 hours to October 7, 2026, the trading pair NEO/USDT registered about $739,000 in trading volume on Binance, more than any other NEO pair there.
The other NEO pairs on Binance are NEO/USDC and, where offered, NEO/TRY (Turkish lira). Binance removed NEO/BTC on May 1, 2026, and its NEO pairs with ETH, BNB, TUSD, PAX and BUSD are also closed.
Binance also lets users buy NEO directly with a credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or swap other coins for it with Binance Convert, where these options are offered.
We’ll look at Binance for this guide, using the spot market route: deposit Tether (USDT) or USD Coin (USDC), then trade it for NEO.
Your first step is to, if you haven’t already, register an account on Binance.
Step 2: Verify your account
Before you can start trading, you will need to submit several KYC (know your customer) documents to verify your identity. Additionally, set up secure 2-Factor Authentication to protect your account.
Step 3: Send USDT or USDC to Your Binance Account
Once your verification has been approved, send USDT or USDC to your Binance account. If you hold Bitcoin or Ethereum instead, deposit it and swap it for NEO with Binance Convert (“Trade”, then “Convert & Block Trade”), because the NEO/BTC and NEO/ETH pairs are closed. If you don’t already hold any of these coins, people from almost anywhere in the world can buy with a credit card from Coinmama or Changelly.
To make a USDT or USDC deposit, click “Deposit”, then “Deposit Crypto”. Choose the coin you wish to send and the network you will send it on. This will give you a wallet address to send your funds to. Make sure that any coins you send to this address are only in that currency and on that network – if you send your funds to an incorrect address, your coins may be lost.
Step 4: Wait for confirmation
Depending on the network load, you may have to wait a short time for your deposit to be confirmed. Make sure the deposit has gone through before navigating away from the page.
Step 5: Locate the NEO/USDT or NEO/USDC Pair
Once you have deposited your USDT or USDC, it’s time to move to the Exchange. Click on “Trade” on the top navigation bar, then “Spot”.
Once you are in the Exchange, find the NEO pair for the coin you deposited earlier. To do this, go to the search bar near the top right, and search for NEO. This will bring up the NEO pairs for Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and, where offered, the Turkish lira.
Click on your desired pair, and it will bring up the trading screen for NEO.
Optional: Use Binance’s advanced tools to buy at the right time
Binance offers a number of tools and data to help you try to buy low and sell high. On the trading screen, you will be able to view price and order history for the pair you selected. You can also set limits for buying or selling. This means you can set a price at which you want to buy or sell, and once NEO’s price hits this point, Binance will execute your trade.
With the different tools available on the advanced exchange provided by Binance, users will be able to have a better control over the funds they manage. Binance is an exchange created for beginners and also for professional traders that require many other tools to take better decisions while trading.
Step 6: Choose how much NEO you want to buy
Select the price you wish to buy at, or else click the “Market” tab and buy for the price it is right now.
You can choose to buy a certain amount of NEO, or to spend 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the coins you deposited earlier. Binance charges regular users a 0.1% spot trading fee, or 0.075% if you pay the fee with BNB.
Step 7: Buy NEO!
Click “Buy NEO” to complete your order.
Step 8: Move your coins to a secure NEO wallet
When not trading, it is best practice to keep your coins in your own, secure wallet, separate from an Exchange. This is even more important for NEO, as you want a wallet which is able to generate GAS from your NEO holdings.
For the highest security, you can hold your NEO in the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet (Ledger now sells the Nano S Plus in its place). Alternatively, the NEON wallet by COZ, for desktop and mobile, is a popular wallet, with the ability to store both NEO and GAS on Neo N3. Ledger’s own guide pairs its devices with Neon’s desktop app.
Once your order has been completed and your NEO tokens have shown up in your Binance wallet, head to “Assets”, then “Overview”, and click “Withdraw”. Select NEO and the Neo N3 network. Enter the withdrawal address (the address from your NEO wallet), as well as the amount of NEO you wish to move. NEO can’t be split, so withdraw a whole number of coins (Binance’s minimum is 1 NEO).
Although the Binance exchange offers an account to deal with virtual currencies, the best thing to do is to withdraw the funds to another wallet. The most secure way of holding NEO coins is by depositing them in a hardware or offline wallet.
The best hardware wallet for NEO is a Ledger device, such as the Nano S Plus. Binance was affected by a hack in May 2019 that resulted in the loss of 7,000 BTC from their wallets. Using a hardware wallet is the best thing to do for long-term investors.
Click “Withdraw”, confirm the details and complete the security check to finish the process.
Conclusion
Purchasing NEO on the Binance platform is one of the fastest ways to acquire the digital asset. In this way, you will gain exposure to the NEO ecosystem and to the entire crypto space by diversifying your portfolio.
There are also other exchanges that would allow you to have access to the NEO ecosystem. Each of these platforms has its own features specs. You should pay close attention to the exchange that offers the best solutions for your needs.
Now you know how to begin investing in NEO, you can join one of the most passionate communities in crypto today.
