A Single Individual Controls $200 Million in Crypto for a Project, Sparking Governance Debate

The treasury of a prominent cryptocurrency project has been managed in an unconventional manner, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets controlled by personal wallets lacking multi-signature protections and formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, the individual in control of these assets 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 with a single signature, valued between $200 million and $250 million. This amount exceeds the project's current market capitalization of $197 million. The two co-founders have been publicly disputing since December, resulting in rival governance plans and an unsuccessful mediation attempt in Hong Kong. Da has proposed a restructuring plan that involves relocating the project's foundation from Singapore to the Cayman Islands, establishing an independent five-member board, and preventing both founders from serving on the board for 24 months. Additionally, Da's plan includes redistributing approximately 26 million tokens to holders. In contrast, Zhang's counter-proposal suggests maintaining the current governance structure and staying on the board, while also calling for an investigation into historical asset management to address potential corruption and improper asset transfers. Da has dismissed these accusations, stating that there has been no corruption or misuse of funds. Observers have noted that the project's treasury holds around $460 million in assets, roughly double its market value, while the token has declined by 98% from its peak in 2018. The project's financial report for 2025 revealed significant holdings in bitcoin, stablecoins, and venture investments, including an unliquidated stake in a major cryptocurrency exchange. Da has proposed a 'mutual disarmament' approach, where both he and Zhang would relinquish control over the assets, with NGD losing control over most assets, including bitcoin and stablecoins, and Zhang losing personal control over the majority of the tokens. However, this plan relies on Zhang's cooperation, and Da has expressed uncertainty about whether Zhang will agree to the proposal.