For years, the treasury of the NEO project has been managed in an unconventional manner, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets controlled through personal wallets, lacking multi-signature protections and formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, the individual responsible for this arrangement is Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder and core protocol architect.
Da estimates that Zhang alone controls around 85% of the project's assets, worth between $200 million and $250 million, using single-signature authority. This amount exceeds the project's current market capitalization of $197 million. The dispute between the two co-founders has led to the creation of rival governance plans, with Da proposing the establishment of an independent five-member board, the redistribution of tokens to holders, and the relocation of the Neo Foundation from Singapore to the Cayman Islands.
In contrast, Zhang's proposal involves remaining on the board, keeping the foundation in Singapore, and initiating a formal investigation into historical asset management. Da has dismissed these allegations, describing them as 'blunt and empty accusations.' The project's treasury holds approximately $460 million in assets, which is roughly double its market value, while the token has experienced a 98% decline from its peak in 2018. The situation has resulted in a stalemate, with each co-founder holding significant leverage over the other.
Da has framed his proposal as a form of mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would relinquish control over the assets. However, the success of this plan relies on Zhang's cooperation, and it remains uncertain whether he will agree to transfer the single-signature token holdings to a multi-signature lock address.