For years, the NEO treasury was managed through a unique setup, with hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets controlled by personal wallets and lacking formal oversight. According to co-founder Da Hongfei, Erik Zhang, the other co-founder and architect of NEO's core protocol, holds around 85% of the treasury, worth between $200 million and $250 million, with single-signature control. Da has proposed a restructuring plan, which includes relocating 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 has sparked a debate over governance, with some observers noting that NEO's treasury holds approximately $460 million in assets, roughly double the project's market value, while the token has dropped 98% from its 2018 peak. Da has called for mutual disarmament, where both he and Zhang would relinquish control over the assets, but the outcome depends on Zhang's cooperation.