Comparative Analysis of the NEO and Ethereum Cryptocurrencies in the Context of the Digital Economy of the Future

Abstract

The subject of the research is the NEO and Ethereum cryptocurrencies. The relevance of the research is due to the following.First, these cryptocurrencies are expected to play the key role in establishing the future digital economy. Second, cryptocurrency developers are competing to gain leading positions in the development of financial technologies of the digital revolution. Third, the above cryptocurrencies are designed to perform almost identical functions, therefore, to determine the advantages of either of them, a comparative analysis is needed and appropriate conclusions for the Russian economy should be made.The purpose of the paper was to perform a comparative analysis of the Ethereum and NEO cryptocurrencies to identify trends in the digital economy of the future and determine the main targets to enable Russia’s entry into the top five largest world economies.The information sources include articles, books, regulations, departmental documents and conference materials on FinTech, crypto-markets and the digital economy. The research made it possible to reveal specific features of the cryptocurrencies and the corresponding digital platforms that are important for the development of the digital economy of the future. The goal of Ethereum developers is to create a platform for decentralized applications, based on which it will be possible to form a global, easy-to-access, free and reliable Internet of the future.The paper concludes that at present, the NEO has advantages over the Ethereum in terms of both the transaction speed and operational fitness for the development of prospective technologies of the digital economy. However, it may happen that in the near future, the Ethereum developers will be able to improve their blockchain technology so as to ensure the priority of their project in the competition for leadership in the development of the digital economy of the future. Given the contradictions revealed and taking into account the raw materials orientation of the Russian economy, a number of targets are proposed to bring Russia into the five largest world economies.