Co-Founder Holds Keys to $200 Million in Crypto, Sparking Governance Dispute

The NEO project's treasury, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets, has been controlled through personal wallets with no multi-sig protections and little formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, approximately 85% of the assets are controlled by Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder, with a single signature. The native NEO and GAS tokens held by Zhang are currently worth between $200 million and $250 million. Da has proposed a restructuring plan that includes redomiciling the Neo Foundation from Singapore to the Cayman Islands, replacing the current governance with an independent five-member board, and redistributing tokens to holders. In contrast, Zhang's counter-proposal involves staying on the board and keeping the Foundation in Singapore, with a focus on investigating historical asset management and addressing potential corruption. The dispute between the co-founders has led to a stalemate, with each holding significant leverage over the other. Da has framed his proposal as a form of mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would sacrifice individual control over assets. However, the success of this plan depends on Zhang's cooperation, which remains uncertain.