Neo N3 MainNet Launch & Migration Plan
We’re here. The N3 version of the Neo MainNet launched at 9:00:00 on August 2nd, 2021 (UTC).
It’s been a journey. Neo founder Erik Zhang first announced intentions to build Neo 3.0 in July 2018. Since then, the world has changed significantly. The crypto markets have gone up and down. Blockchain fads have come and gone. The overall industry has matured.
Throughout it all though, we’ve had our eye on a singular goal: To build the most developer friendly blockchain.
It’s been a herculean effort, with contributions from all over the globe. It started with a team in Shanghai. It grew throughout America and Europe with COZ. NeoResearch joined us from Brazil. AxLabs got on board from Switzerland. Neo SPCC signed up by way of Russia. Red4Sec jumped in from Spain. NEXT expanded in China. NeoTracker and NGD Enterprise logged on from Seattle… These groups and so many other community members from all reaches of the earth have pitched in to build a truly global blockchain platform.
We couldn’t be more thankful for all the contributions, or more proud of what we have accomplished together.
N3 is ambitious. It delivers big features, such as platform native decentralized storage and oracles. It brings many fundamental upgrades from Neo Legacy, including a revamped governance system, an all new architecture, and an improved economic model. It’s multi-language support and best in class tooling make Neo a compelling choice for blockchain developers.
We believe Neo is the blockchain development platform for the Smart Economy.
A range of promotions are planned to celebrate the launch of the Neo N3 MainNet, including NFT giveaways, TestNet activities, content programs, and more. Keep an eye out on Neo’s official channels over the coming weeks for more information.
In the meantime, this article will answer some key questions NEO and GAS holders will have regarding migration from Neo Legacy to Neo N3, including those regarding dates and incentives. For more information on the overall launch plan, please refer to this article.
Token Migration
Token migration is a critical milestone for the Neo N3 launch. Generally speaking, migration involves creating a new address on Neo N3 and sending your Neo Legacy tokens to a migration contract. The contract will then release Neo N3 tokens to your new Neo N3 address at 1:1 ratio. Poly Network will be used as the bridge to connect the two chains.
You will essentially have three choices for the migration path: Neo.org website via dAPI, in-wallet migration, or through exchanges.
Information on dates, supported wallets and exchanges, and frequently asked questions, will be available at neo.org/migration. This page will be used as the main outlet for the most up-to-date migration details. Note: The current page will be replaced with a new one by Monday, August 9th.
As a NEO or GAS holder, you should take note of two important migration dates:
- August 9th — “Early Bird” migration
- September 1st — Mass migration
August 9th — “Early Bird” Migration
Token holders can begin migrating NEO and GAS from Neo Legacy to Neo N3 as early as August 9th. Please be aware that there are advantages and disadvantages to participating in this phase of migration.
The main benefit to Early Bird migration is the opportunity to be among the first to vote in Neo’s new governance system.
Under the rules of Neo’s new economic structure, the majority of newly minted GAS is distributed to NEO token holders who have successfully voted for a Neo Council member. As fewer NEO tokens will be used to vote during the Early Bird phase, the GAS will be split among less NEO and may yield a larger than usual GAS generation rate.
However, during this time there is likely to be very limited N3 support from external service providers such as wallets and exchanges. This may mean that you are unable to migrate or even store your new N3 tokens using your preferred wallet. As you cannot migrate back to Neo Legacy, it could also mean you find yourself unable to trade your N3 NEO and GAS tokens until exchanges have integrated N3 support.
Further, for the rest of August, the N3 MainNet will still be in the “setup” phase. While Neo has already determined the current build to be stable and ready for public use, various infrastructure pieces will continue to be onboarded throughout the month. We do not anticipate any interruptions and no funds will be at risk, but it is possible that some unforeseen issue could delay integration support of certain features or providers.
Please weigh these considerations carefully.
September 1st — Mass Migration
Upon conclusion of the MainNet setup phase, we will begin the mass migration of NEO and GAS tokens. A token migration incentive program offering bonus tokens will be launched to encourage token swaps from Neo Legacy to N3. Starting this month, additional migration channels, wallets, and exchange support will also increasingly become available.
We should note that although we are working hard alongside major exchanges to ensure early support for the Neo N3 MainNet, we do not have total control over the internal timelines of external organizations. We will make every endeavour to ensure wide and speedy adoption of N3, but ultimately, universal support may come gradually.
Token Migration Incentive Program
The token migration incentive program will run from September 1st until October 31st, offering bonus NEO tokens to users who migrate during this period. Rewards will start at 1% and decrease over the eight week period as follows:
- September 1st — 14th — 1% bonus
- September 15th — 30th — 0.75% bonus
- October 1st — 31st — 0.5% bonus
Please take note: As NEO is indivisible, the minimum token bonus you can receive is 1 NEO. This means you will need to migrate NEO in the following quantities to receive bonuses:
- 1% bonus — 1 bonus NEO per 100 migrated NEO
- 0.75% bonus — 1 bonus NEO per 134 migrated NEO
- 0.5% bonus — 1 bonus NEO per 200 migrated NEO
Migrating in quantities less than the above numbers will not net you a token bonus. For example, if you migrate 199 NEO during week one, you will only receive 1 NEO.
Centralized exchanges supporting the token migration may distribute token bonuses differently. Please refer to the individual exchanges for their own guidance.
Rewards will be distributed within three days of completing your migration. There are currently no plans in place for GAS migration incentives.
Migration Fees
If you are migrating 10 NEO, 20 GAS, or more, the Neo Foundation will cover the costs of the transfer. No action is required on your part as this will be handled automatically during the transaction.
A 1 GAS fee is required if you are migrating less than 10 NEO or 20 GAS. This is because fees are now required on all Neo N3 transactions. Allowing users to migrate small quantities of tokens with no fee opens up an exploit where users could potentially spam transactions to burn Neo Foundation GAS inefficiently.
The Neo Foundation has set a budget of 200K GAS to cover migration costs, which should be more than enough to cover fees under the rules set above. If by some chance that budget runs out, late migrators may need to pay a fee even if migrating above the free threshold.
The 1 GAS fee is required regardless of whether you choose to participate in Early Bird or Mass Migration and will be paid in Neo Legacy GAS at the time of migration.
Neo Foundation Token Migration
In order to ensure the Neo N3 network launches smoothly, the NEO and GAS tokens currently held by the Neo Foundation will not be migrated via Poly Network. Instead, the Neo Foundation will receive its tokens from those directly issued to the consensus multi-signature address on Neo N3.
The number NEO and GAS tokens not currently held by the Neo Foundation will be sent to the cross-chain proxy contract on N3. Neo Legacy token holders will be able to unlock their N3 tokens from this contract by performing the token migration.
Neo Legacy Block 8,000,000: GAS Generation Ceases
Following the launch of Neo N3, the Neo Legacy blockchain will move into long-term support and continue to operate for at least one year. During this time the Neo N3 migration channels will remain open.
However, having two blockchains that continually generate GAS at slightly different rates makes things complicated for providers, such as exchanges that need to calculate circulating supply.
To solve this issue, NEO holders should be advised that GAS generation will stop on Neo Legacy at block height 8,000,000, estimated to occur around the middle of September.
At this point, the circulation of GAS on Neo Legacy will be exactly 52,000,000. The initial supply of GAS on Neo N3 will be minted according to this amount and sent to the consensus multi-signature address on Neo N3.
As noted in the section above, the tokens not currently owned by the Neo Foundation will be sent to the cross-chain proxy contract on N3.
Stay Updated
As we move into migration, we want to remind everyone to refer to official Neo channels for details. Updated information, including available migration options, dates, and frequently asked questions will be published on neo.org/migration. Note: The current page will be replaced with a new one by Monday, August 9th.
In regards to NEP-5 tokens, the migration from Neo Legacy will require the contract owner to first create a new NEP-17 contract on Neo N3. Project owners are welcomed to reach out to NGD’s Digital Asset Unit for migration support. Token holders should seek information from project owners on migration plans and timelines.
