“NEO is incredibly centralized. The entire network only has 13 validating nodes. Developers whitelist who can run validating nodes”
All fully synced blockchain wallets are NEO nodes. There are many. However, NEO works on a different kind of consensus mechanism than currencies like Bitcoin (Proof-of-Work) or NAV (Proof-of-Stake), and uses something called dBFT (delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance). So there are certain nodes in the network that are like “master” nodes called “Consensus Nodes”, and these need to be voted on by the entire network. Plenty of this information is in the NEO docs.
Currently the Consensus Nodes are run by the NEO Council, which was a deliberate decision while the ecosystem got moving, with plans to decentralise the operation of these nodes in Q1 of 2018. Ironically it was in October’s Monthly Report from the NEO Council that plans were announced to do this even earlier than originally planned.
Almost nothing