Neo will soon permanently shut down Neo Legacy, the original version of its blockchain launched in 2016 under the name AntShares. The shutdown is occurring in two stages, with TestNet already closed on June 1, 2025, and MainNet due to follow on Oct. 31. The move concludes Neo’s multi-year transition to its newer blockchain architectures, Neo N3, an upgraded version of the Legacy protocol, and Neo X, an EVM-based sidechain with anti-MEV capabilities. Over its eight years of operation, Neo Legacy produced more than 14 million blocks, processed over 281 million transactions, and hosted nearly 3 million addresses. It supported 213 categories of assets and served as the foundation for the Neo ecosystem’s early development and community growth. From AntShares to N3 Neo was founded in 2014 by Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang as AntShares, a public blockchain focused on integrating digital assets, identity, and smart contracts into a “smart economy.” The AntShares MainNet launched in October 2016, and in 2017 the project was rebranded as Neo, marking its expansion beyond China. The original chain became known as Neo Legacy once development began on its successor. That successor, Neo N3, launched in June 2021 as a complete architectural overhaul. N3 introduced on-chain governance, improved smart contract performance, built-in oracles, and a more efficient token economy. Because the upgrade was not backward compatible, Neo Legacy remained active to give developers and users time to migrate. In 2024, Neo announced Neo X, an EVM-compatible sidechain designed to extend N3’s reach and interoperability, further signaling the ecosystem’s evolution beyond its original infrastructure. Migration and shutdown details A final snapshot of Neo Legacy will be taken before the shutdown to preserve its historical state. After Oct. 31, block production will cease permanently, and all on-chain operations—including asset transfers, token migrations, and contract deployments—will be disabled. Users must migrate assets and smart contracts to Neo N3 before the deadline using the official portals. These are migration.neo.org for NEO and GAS assets, and nepmigration.com for supported NEP-5 tokens. Migration can also be completed natively in Neon Wallet. Neo will coordinate with centralized exchanges to manage custodial holdings and has advised node operators to shut down following network closure. The original announcement can be found at the link below: https://medium.com/neo-smart-economy/neo-legacy-network-shutdown-notice-9e98f89b6eae