A Single Individual Controls $200 Million in Crypto for a Project, Sparking Calls for Change

The cryptocurrency project NEO has been managed with an unconventional setup, where hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets have been controlled through personal wallets without multi-signature protections or formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, the individual controlling these assets is Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder and core protocol architect. Da estimates that Zhang holds between $200 million and $250 million worth of NEO and GAS tokens, exceeding 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 effort. Da's proposal, published on GitHub, suggests 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 and keeping the Foundation in Singapore. Zhang's plan also calls for an investigation into historical asset management, which Da dismisses as an empty accusation. The project's treasury holds approximately $460 million in assets, double its market value, while the token has dropped 98% from its 2018 peak. The treasury is split between Zhang's single-signature control of native tokens and Da's management of other assets, including bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins. Da's proposal is framed as a mutual disarmament, where both parties would relinquish control over assets. However, the restructuring depends on Zhang's cooperation, and Da is uncertain if Zhang will agree. If Zhang refuses, Da believes the community should decide the next course of action.