The NEO project's treasury, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, has been managed through personal wallets with little oversight, sparking a heated debate over governance. Co-founder Da Hongfei claims that Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder, controls around 85% of the assets, worth between $200 million and $250 million, with a single signature. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes replacing the current two-founder governance with an independent five-member board and redistributing tokens to holders. In response, Zhang has accused Da of mismanagement and proposed an investigation into historical asset management.
The dispute has led to a stalemate, with both founders holding significant leverage over the project's assets. 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 the plan relies on Zhang's cooperation, which remains uncertain.