NEO co-founder Da Hongfei has put a public clock on a governance overhaul after alleging that Erik Zhang controls roughly 85% of NEO’s native-token treasury through a single-signature wallet. The dispute now centers on whether those NEO and GAS holdings move into multisig custody, or whether Zhang’s investigation-first counter-plan takes precedence.

Key Takeaways

• Roughly 85% of NEO’s native-token treasury is alleged to sit under Erik Zhang’s single-signature control, without multisig protections or formal oversight.
• Da Hongfei estimated the Zhang-controlled NEO and position at $200 million to $250 million, a figure he said is larger than NEO’s stated $197 million market capitalization.
• A restructuring proposal posted April 9 calls for a Cayman Islands redomicile, an independent five-member board, a 24-month founder board ban, and redistribution of about 26 million NEO and 40 million GAS to tokenholders.
• A competing blueprint keeps the Neo Foundation in Singapore, retains Zhang on the board, and mandates a formal investigation into historical management.

NEO’s Treasury Custody Fight Goes Public: Single-Sig Control vs Multisig

The NEO founder dispute has moved from internal friction to a custody-control fight with direct market implications. Da Hongfei said co-founder Erik Zhang controls roughly 85% of NEO’s native-token treasury through a single-signature wallet, meaning one key can move funds unilaterally.

Da described the setup as lacking multisig protections and formal oversight, and framed the remedy as moving those holdings into a multisig lock , where multiple approvals are required to transfer assets. The immediate variable for traders is execution risk, not rhetoric. Da has tied his broader restructuring to Zhang’s cooperation on that transfer.

Treasury vs Market Cap: The Numbers Driving Trader Attention

Da estimated the NEO and GAS tokens under Zhang’s control are worth $200 million to $250 million. He also pointed to NEO’s stated market capitalization of $197 million, creating an unusual dynamic where the disputed custody pool is described as larger than the network’s equity-like market value.

The broader treasury was described as holding about $460 million in assets, roughly double the project’s $197 million market value, while NEO is down 98% from its 2018 peak. That mismatch is why this reads as more than governance theater. A large, concentrated token pool with unclear controls can become a standing overhang, especially when the controlling parties are in open conflict.