A Single Individual Holds the Keys to $200 Million in Crypto Assets, Sparking a Governance Dispute

For years, the project's treasury has been controlled through personal wallets with no multi-signature protections and limited oversight, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets at stake. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder and core protocol architect, holds around 85% of the assets, valued between $200 million and $250 million, with single-signature control. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes redomiciling the foundation to the Cayman Islands, establishing an independent five-member board, and redistributing tokens to holders. In response, Zhang has put forth a counter-proposal that includes a formal investigation into historical asset management and provisions to address potential corruption. The two co-founders have been publicly disputing since December, with their disagreement producing rival governance plans and an unsuccessful mediation effort. Da's proposal aims to introduce mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would relinquish individual control over assets, but the success of this plan depends on Zhang's cooperation. If Zhang refuses, the community may need to intervene to determine the project's future.