Neo, the open-source blockchain platform behind the NEO token, has entered a strategic partnership with AEON, a next-generation crypto payment framework, to enable NEO payments across millions of merchants in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. The collaboration, announced in April 2025, integrates support for NEO on Neo X, Neo’s EVM-compatible sidechain, into AEON Pay, allowing NEO holders to spend their tokens for everyday in-store transactions such as shopping and dining. AEON Pay’s infrastructure connects blockchain assets to real-world commerce via its Telegram Mini App, standalone dApp, and integrations with popular wallets like Bitget Wallet, extending NEO’s reach to over 20 million merchants and more than 10,000 brands in the region and other emerging markets. The partnership is positioned as a utility and adoption play for NEO, shifting the token beyond trading and DeFi into real-world payment use cases. Neo will promote AEON Pay within its global community to drive usage, while AEON gains access to an established smart-contract ecosystem and user base through Neo X. Strategically, this move reflects a broader trend of blockchain projects partnering with specialized payment processors to bridge on-chain assets with offline retail, particularly in high-growth regions like Southeast Asia where mobile-first payments and super-app ecosystems are already widely adopted. If effectively executed, the integration could enhance NEO’s role as a spendable digital asset and further normalize cryptocurrency use in everyday consumer payments across emerging markets.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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