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

The NEO project's treasury, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets, has been controlled through personal wallets with no multisig protections and limited formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder, holds around 85% of the treasury, worth between $200 million and $250 million, with single signature control. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes replacing the current two-founder governance with an independent five-member board, redistributing tokens to holders, and implementing multisig protection. In response, Zhang has accused Da of problems and proposed a counter-plan, calling for a formal investigation into historical asset management and provisions to address potential corruption. Da has dismissed these accusations, stating that there is no corruption or misuse of funds. The dispute has led to a stalemate, with the two founders holding leverage over each other, and the project's future hanging in the balance. Da has framed his proposal as a form of mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would sacrifice their individual control over assets. However, the success of this plan depends on Zhang's cooperation, and it remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached.