Jimmy Liao, core developer of Neo and founder of R3E Network, published two experimental repositories on May 4 that explored what the next generation of Neo could look like. The larger of the two, neo-n4, is a prototype multi-L2 elastic network architecture built on the Neo 4 core. The second, neo-language, is an early-stage domain-specific language for Neo N3 smart contracts.
Both projects are independent community research efforts. The neo-n4 repository prominently states that it is “NOT the official Neo 4 release,” and describes itself as “one community’s prototype, not a specification.”
neo-n4: elastic network architecture
neo-n4 is envisioned as a three-tier design where Neo N3 or Neo 4 serves as the L1 settlement layer, an optional gateway aggregates evidence from multiple L2 chains, and individual L2 chains use the Neo 4 core as their execution kernel. The architecture borrows the shared bridge and proof aggregation pattern developed by ZKsync’s Elastic Chain, rebuilt on Neo’s stack using dBFT 2.0 finality, NEP-17 assets, NeoVM and NeoFS for data availability.
The scope of the prototype is significant. At the time of writing, the repository contains 820 tests across 26 projects, 19 smart contracts across 13 NeoHub L1 contracts and 6 L2 native contracts, 15 off-chain libraries, 8 node plugins and 3 CLI tools. Contracts include chain registration, shared bridging, settlement management, sequencer binding, and an optimistic challenge window.
Liao built up the work in phases. Phases zero through three, which include a sidechain proof of concept, the shared NeoHub bridge, batch settlement, and an optimistic challenge window, have been marked complete. Phase six is also complete and provides CLI tools for developers. Phases four and five, which focus on ZK validity proofs using a RISC-V prover and aggregation of proofs across multiple L2s, remain ongoing with the scaffolding.
The project’s cross-chain messaging system, Neo Connect, outlines L1-to-L2, L2-to-L1, and L2-to-L2 messages passing through batches of Merkle proofs. A tiered data availability model offers three tiers: L1 settlement for high-security use cases such as DeFi, NeoFS for lower-cost applications, and a data availability commission option for minimal-cost scenarios.
The repository contains a whitepaper, architecture documentation and operator manuals, although no publicly disclosed security audit has taken place.
Relationship to official Neo 4 work
neo-n4 explicitly assumes that the Neo 4 core exists as a working base layer and builds an L2 architecture on top of it. The fourth phase of the project focuses on the validity proofs of NeoVM 2 and RISC-V ZK, in line with the direction set by Neo co-founder Erik Zhang in his draft Neo 4 roadmap in September 2025.
On April 15, Zhang announced that a NeoVM-compatible RISC-V VM solution had passed full MainNet status validation, confirming that the design had passed the conceptual stage. Liao contributed to that effort by sharing an architecture diagram of PolkaVM integration into the Neo Core C# node days earlier.
The neo-n4 announcement came 19 days after that milestone. Where Zhang’s work represents the canonical Neo 4 protocol development, neo-n4 explores what a multi-L2 scaling layer might look like if built on top of it. Zhang’s draft roadmap did not explicitly propose a multi-L2 architecture.
neo-lang: a neo-native contract language
The second repository, neo-lang, presents a contract-oriented language targeting Neo N3 with the file extension `.neo`. It features 10 built-in types, struct declarations, event handling, a package system, and access to Neo-native contracts including Oracle and Notary.
Liao’s announcement claims the language will save 30% on opcodes. Although the repository contains an extensive language reference, compiler binaries, test suites, sample contracts, and benchmarks are not yet available.
The contrast with R3E’s more mature neo-solidity compiler, which released v0.15.0 on March 20 with over 700 tests, for example DeFi contracts and a Hardhat integration that was 95% complete, is notable. Both projects focus on Neo N3 bytecode, but serve different audiences. neo-solidity is an established language for developers familiar with EVM, while neo-lang aims to be Neo-native from the ground up.
R3E’s productive production continues
The two repositories are the latest in a rapid stream of developer tools from R3E in 2026. Since February, the team has released the neo-solidity compiler, a JavaScript decompiler SDK, a TEE-powered oracle system deployed on MainNet, and SDK releases for JavaScript, Rust, and Swift.
neo-n4 represents the most ambitious of these efforts: a prototype of network-level infrastructure rather than individual developer tools. Whether any of the components will find their way into official Neo development remains an open question. Liao’s dual role as R3E founder and Neo core developer positions the work as informed exploration, but the repository’s own disclaimers make it clear that it is just that: an exploration, not a roadmap.
The neo-n4 and neo-lang repositories can be found via the links below:
https://github.com/r3e-network/neo-n4
https://github.com/r3e-network/neo-lang