Neo brands EVM-compatible sidechain ‘Neo X’

Neo has named its EVM-compatible sidechain ‘Neo X’. The name results from a contest where entrants submitted suggestions and voted on the most popular options. The final winner was selected by a panel of judges from the Neo Foundation, Neo Global Development, and the Neo community. ‘Neo X’ was submitted by Twitter user devrick (@devrick_fi), who comes away with a US $10,000 prize. Neo stated “‘X’ signifies the fusion between #EVM and #Neo and is congruent with Neo’s existing brand architecture, paired nicely alongside N3.”

In October, Neo founder Da Hongfei unveiled details of an MEV-resistant, EVM-compatible sidechain, with plans for TestNet to launch at the end of the year. Details of the sidechain naming contest were announced shortly thereafter, and the competition officially launched on Nov. 6 when contestants were invited to submit their ideas. Phase 1 of the contest comprised the submission period, which ended on Nov. 17 with over 300 entries.

Neo Global Development narrowed the field down to 20, and opened Phase 2, during which members of the public could vote for their favorites. To incentivize participation, Neo distributed a total of $4,000 in token rewards to community advocates and randomly selected voters. Voting concluded on Nov. 27, narrowing the field down to five finalists:

• Bane Network
• Neo Paradome
• Neo X
• Neo Forge
• TRINITY

In addition to the $10,000 awarded to the winner, Neo distributed prizes of $1,000 to each of the other finalists. In their submission for the winning name, Neo X, devrick noted, “I believe that the core value of ‘neo-sidechain’ lies in its ability to establish a connection with the existing EVM. That’s why I used “X” to signify fusion.”

Details of all 20 names voted on by the community can be found here:
https://neo-blockchain.medium.com/neo-sidechain-naming-campaign-phase-2-your-vote-matters-49ac468dfb0f