Neon Exchange

NEX, based out of Zug, Switzerland, is currently scheduled for April. NEX will be the Dapp for NEO's smart economy - automating the management of digital assets using smart contracts and a distributed network combining the performance of centalized exchanges with the trust and security properties of DEX:

• High Volume Decentralized Exchange
• Payment Service
• Complex Ordering and Trading
• Wallet

NEX, also called DEX on NEO platform's, will be a system comprising an off-chain trade matching engine, smart contracts where trades are executed, and a payment service where assets such as NEO and GAS can be converted to NEP5 tokens on its blockchain platform and directly tradeable from the user's wallet on the exchange. The browser-based wallet will be a MetaMask-like Chrome extension and allow users to interact with other Dapps and send and receive NEO, GAS and NEP-5 tokens. MetaMask is an extension for accessing Ethereum-enabled Dapps within Crhome so that Dapps can read from the blockchain. MetaMask also lets users create and manage their own identities - when a Dapp wants to perform a transaction and write to the blockchain, the user receives a secure interface to review the transaction before approving or rejecting it. 

From the whitepaper: The NEX token allows holders to claim a share of fees generated by the payment service and exchange. In total, 50 million tokens will be issued that entitle holders to a share of the fees taken by the exchange and payment service. NEX holders can claim their profits through a staking process, where claims on the staked NEX operate similar to GAS claim calculations on the NEO network. In this way, token holders who stake NEX benefit directly from the success of the exchange services: As more fees are generated, holders will receive larger rewards.

A criticism of NEO has been its centralized nature; while a smaller council enables faster decisions than a much more dentralized structure such as Ethereum, NEO plans to move towards more breadth and external input over the current specialized node configuration currently in place. OnChain is NEO's partner to ensure government compliance including members of the NEO Council on NEX's advisory board.