# Da HongFei

> Da HongFei is a Chinese tech entrepreneur, co-founder of the NEO blockchain network, and CEO of Onchain, with a background in advocating for Bitcoin.

- Canonical URL: https://iq.wiki/wiki/da-hongfei
- Categories: People in crypto
- Tags: Founder
- Created: 2023-06-05T22:39:54.009Z
- Last updated: 2023-07-25T23:13:41.134Z
- Source: IQ.wiki — the world's largest blockchain and crypto encyclopedia (https://iq.wiki)

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**Da Hongfei** is a Co-founder of the [NEO ](https://iq.wiki/wiki/neo)[blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) network, a platform for building [decentralized applications](https://iq.wiki/wiki/decentralized-application) (dApps). He is also the Founder and CEO of Onchain, a [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) technology company in China. [\[1\]](#cite-id-2bx6wtsqut)[\[2\]](#cite-id-eyxikm58l69)  
  
  
# Education  
  
Da Hongfei attended the South China University of Technology, Guangdong Province of China, between 1997 and 2001 where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in English and Technology. [\[1\]](#cite-id-2bx6wtsqut)[\[3\]](#cite-id-15ihwdszf98i)  
  
# Career  
  
Hongfei held a position at IntPass Consulting in Shanghai from 2005 to 2013 before starting a career in the [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) technology industry. In 2011, Hongfei initiated a campaign that fostered the growth of a [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) community in China, actively advocating for Bitcoin adoption in the country. [\[2\]](#cite-id-eyxikm58l69)  
  
In January 2014, he co-founded [Neo Network](https://iq.wiki/wiki/neo) and in December 2016, established Onchain. [\[2\]](#cite-id-eyxikm58l69)[\[3\]](#cite-id-15ihwdszf98i)  
  
## Neo  
  
In 2014, Da Hongfei met his co-founder [Erik Zhang](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erik-zhang) at the Bitcoin Conference in Shanghai. They formed a partnership and announced the launch of their first [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) company, AntShares, which focused on developing [decentralized applications](https://iq.wiki/wiki/decentralized-application) (dApps).   
  
In June 2017, AntShares rebranded as [Neo](https://iq.wiki/wiki/neo). The main reason for the rebranding from AntShares to NEO was brand conflicts and potential confusion with other entities. In particular, the Chinese internet financial company, Ant Financial, had a similar name and was associated with Alibaba Group, causing confusion. [\[10\]](#cite-id-3ie0hmajsn8)  
  
> "To avoid these conflicts and create a distinct identity, we chose the name Neo. We decided to pick a name that represents new in Latin, so we rebranded ourselves NEO." - Da HongFei, Founder of NEO[\[10\]](#cite-id-3ie0hmajsn8)  
  
The Neo platform uses a delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT) consensus mechanism and provides infrastructures such as decentralized storage, oracles, and domain name service, which contribute to the foundation of the Next-Generation internet. Within this ecosystem, users can create, deploy, and utilize [decentralized applications](https://iq.wiki/wiki/decentralized-application) (DApps), products, and services. [\[7\]](#cite-id-uyo4c94kf3)  
  
Both [Neo](https://iq.wiki/wiki/neo) and the [Ethereum blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) are platforms that enable the creation of DApps and utilize [smart contract](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) protocols. Due to these similarities, Neo is nicknamed "the Chinese Ethereum". [\[2\]](#cite-id-eyxikm58l69)[\[1\]](#cite-id-2bx6wtsqut)  
  
However, there are significant differences between Neo and [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum). Neo was created by Da Hongfei and his colleagues using a consensus mechanism called delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT). The transition to dBFT was made after the release of the April 2016 [white paper](https://iq.wiki/wiki/white-paper) that introduced this new consensus method. [\[7\]](#cite-id-uyo4c94kf3)  
  
> "NEO is a lot of things. It's an open-source project; it's a protocol; it's software; it's a node; it's all the other people that are behind the NEO community. So, it's a lot of things." - Da Hongfei commented in an interview[\[8\]](#cite-id-o5pxbbnlcah)  
  
  
  
## OnChain  
  
Da Hongfei is also the Founder and CEO of Onchain[\[9\]](#cite-id-gu09ta2m7lu), an enterprise [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) solution that emerged from the NEO ecosystem and serves businesses in China, founded in 2016. [\[3\]](#cite-id-15ihwdszf98i)[\[4\]](#cite-id-45imp4w14au)  
  
Speaking in an interview, Da HongFei said:  
  
> "In 2016, I founded Onchain, a top blockchain technology company in China, which has conducted in-depth cooperation with the Guiyang municipal government and the Tongren municipal government to provide digitization solutions through blockchain technology. With blockchain technology, we are seeing a new system — decentralized, automatic and autonomous institutions — for people and institutions around the world to better collaborate.[\[5\]](#cite-id-cruw5k4cjzi)