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

The NEO project's treasury, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, has been controlled by a single individual, co-founder Erik Zhang, with no multi-sig protection and limited oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, Zhang holds around 85% of the project's assets, including native NEO and GAS tokens, worth between $200 million and $250 million. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes establishing an independent five-member board, replacing the current two-founder governance, and redistributing tokens to holders. In contrast, Zhang's proposal calls for an investigation into historical asset management and seeks to maintain his role on the board. The dispute has led to a deadlock, with each co-founder 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, and it remains uncertain whether he will agree to the proposed changes.