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

The NEO project's treasury, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets, has been managed through personal wallets without multisig protection or formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder, controls around 85% of the assets with a single signature, estimated to be worth between $200 million and $250 million. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes redomiciling the Neo Foundation to the Cayman Islands, establishing an independent five-member board, and redistributing tokens to holders. In contrast, Zhang's counter-proposal involves staying on the board, keeping the Foundation in Singapore, and conducting a formal investigation into historical asset management. The dispute between the co-founders has been ongoing since December, with both parties airing their grievances publicly. Da's proposal aims to introduce mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would relinquish control over the assets, but the success of this plan depends on Zhang's cooperation. The community is left to decide the next course of action if Zhang refuses to transfer the single-signature token holdings to a multisig lock address.