For years, the NEO project's treasury was managed through an unconventional setup, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets controlled by personal wallets and lacking multi-signature protections or formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, this control rests with Erik Zhang, the project's other co-founder and core protocol architect.

Da estimates that Zhang alone controls around 85% of the assets, worth between $200 million and $250 million, with no multi-signature protection in place. The native NEO and GAS tokens held by Zhang are valued at more than the project's current market capitalization of $197 million. The two co-founders have been publicly airing their disputes since December, resulting in rival governance plans and an unsuccessful mediation effort. Da has proposed a restructuring plan that involves 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 a formal investigation into historical asset management, including 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 the stark numbers, with NEO's treasury holding approximately $460 million in assets, roughly double the project's market value, while the token has dropped 98% from its 2018 peak. The treasury is split between two halves, with the native NEO and GAS tokens under Zhang's control and the non-token assets, including bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins, managed by NGD, the entity run by Da. Da has framed his proposal as a form of mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would sacrifice individual control over assets. However, the success of this proposal depends on Zhang's cooperation, and Da has stated that he is willing to move forward but is unsure if Zhang is.

If Zhang refuses to cooperate, Da believes that the community should decide the next course of action.