NEO Co-Founders Clash Over Control of $460 Million Treasury

A governance crisis has erupted within the NEO ecosystem as co-founders Da Hongfei and Erik Zhang engage in a public struggle for control over the project's treasury, which is currently valued at approximately $460 million. The dispute highlights a precarious security setup where a significant portion of assets has been held in personal wallets without multisig protections. Da Hongfei revealed that Erik Zhang maintains single-signature control over NEO and GAS tokens worth between $200 million and $250 million—an amount that exceeds the project's current market capitalization of $197 million. The treasury is effectively split between the two founders. While Zhang controls the native tokens, Da manages the remaining $200 million in Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins through the NGD entity. This divide has led to a stalemate, with both founders holding significant leverage over the other. In response, Da has proposed redomiciling the Neo Foundation from Singapore to the Cayman Islands and establishing an independent five-member board to oversee assets, which would bar both founders for 24 months. Conversely, Zhang advocates for remaining in Singapore and calls for a formal investigation into historical asset management to address potential corruption and improper transfers. With the NEO token having declined 98% from its 2018 peak, the resolution of this conflict is critical for the project's viability. The transition to a multisig lock address depends entirely on Zhang's cooperation, leaving the community to determine the next steps if a consensus is not reached.