A Single Individual Controls $200 Million in Crypto for a Project, Sparking Calls for Change

For years, the crypto assets of NEO's treasury were managed through an unconventional setup, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto controlled by personal wallets and lacking multisig protection or formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, this control lies with Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder and core protocol architect. Da stated in an interview, "Around 85% is controlled by Eric alone with single signature. It had never been transferred to any individual or any multi-sig." The NEO and GAS tokens held by Zhang are valued between $200 million and $250 million, surpassing NEO's current market capitalization of $197 million. The two founders have been publicly disputing since December, leading to rival governance plans and an unsuccessful mediation effort in Hong Kong. Da's proposal, published on GitHub, involves redomiciling the Neo Foundation to the Cayman Islands, replacing the current governance with an independent board, and redistributing tokens to holders. In contrast, Zhang's proposal includes staying on the board and keeping the foundation in Singapore. Zhang also calls for an investigation into historical asset management, addressing potential corruption and improper transfers. Da dismisses these accusations, stating, "I think it's a very blunt and empty accusation. There is no corruption, no misuse of funds." The project's treasury holds approximately $460 million in assets, double its market value, with the token having dropped 98% from its 2018 peak. Da's proposal is framed as mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would sacrifice individual control over assets. The outcome depends on Zhang's cooperation, and if he refuses, Da believes the community should decide the next steps.