Neo’s two founding figures, Erik Zhang and Da Hongfei, have publicly clashed over governance and treasury transparency. The dispute, which unfolded on X over the final days of 2025, centers on longstanding disagreements related to financial disclosure and control of Neo Foundation assets.

Diverging positions on transparency

Erik Zhang, Neo’s founding developer and architect of the protocol’s core codebase, published a series of statements asserting that Da Hongfei, the other co-founder and long-time lead on strategic operations, had not delivered on a commitment to release a financial report or public statement. Zhang claimed that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, Da would step away from matters related to the Neo MainNet and instead focus on Neo X and SpoonOS – two initiatives outside the core Neo protocol.

Zhang further called for a “complete and verifiable” financial disclosure from Da, including a full inventory of assets held by NF and a breakdown of past expenditures. He emphasized that these disclosures were critical for reestablishing trust and ensuring proper oversight.

In response, Da challenged the framing of events and accused Zhang of centralizing control over Neo’s consensus nodes and treasury, particularly NEO and GAS tokens. He reiterated that he had long advocated for moving these assets to a multisignature custody structure under the Neo Foundation, with both parties as signatories. Da committed to releasing preliminary financial figures in early 2026, while rejecting Zhang’s portrayal of the dispute.

“Neo is my brainchild, and I will never abandon it or this community,” Da wrote, stating that the NF remained committed to its development and would enforce stricter financial discipline moving forward.

Zhang responded by alleging that non-NEO/GAS assets, such as BTC, ETH, and tokens from past investments, had remained under Da’s personal custody without any public financial reporting. He claimed this created an opaque structure with no independent oversight, describing the situation as a “total black box.”

Da refuted this characterization and pointed to NF’s past financial reports, which he said clearly showed that NEO and GAS represented the majority of NF’s assets.

History and governance context

Neo, originally launched as AntShares in 2014, was rebranded in 2017 and underwent a major protocol upgrade in 2021 with the release of Neo N3. Erik Zhang stepped away from active leadership sometime after the N3 rollout but returned to the project in Sept. 2025, announcing a renewed focus on Neo v4.0 development and a roadmap for future upgrades.

In explaining his departure and return, Zhang claimed that Da had requested his exit from NF leadership, citing his view that having two leaders was “slowing Neo down and creating inefficient decision-making.” However, Zhang said he later discovered Da was developing a new blockchain project, EON, which he viewed as a conflict of interest. According to Zhang, this realization compelled him to return and publicly challenge what he viewed as a breakdown in accountability.

Da rejected suggestions that his actions were motivated by personal gain, asserting that his proposal for Zhang to step aside was aimed at securing the Neo Foundation’s treasury through multisig control. He also said Zhang had delayed the process, claiming he previously agreed to transfer NEO and GAS tokens held in his personal custody to the foundation’s multisig addresses around the end of the N3 migration.

Historical financial context

The most recent public financial report issued by the Neo Foundation was published in August 2020. As of June 30 that year, NF reported holding approximately:

  • 42.2 million NEO (valued at ~US $431.5 million at the time),
  • 4.07 million GAS, and
  • BTC-denominated fund assets totaling 4,657.88 BTC, valued then at ~US $42.6 million.

Combined, total assets were reported as USD $524.3 million based on CoinMarketCap prices on June 30, 2020. These figures included holdings in BTC, ETH, ONT, ONG, and other digital assets.

Investments via the Neo Eco Fund and NGC Fund I, both wholly funded by the Neo Foundation, were managed separately by NGD and NGC Partners, respectively. These funds supported projects such as Polkadot, Ontology, Nash, Switcheo, and others. It is unclear how these assets have been managed over the subsequent five years, and the absence of updated disclosures has contributed to the current disagreement.

Official Response

A public statement was posted on the official Neo X account and retweeted by Da, acknowledging the exchange between the two founders. In the tweet, the NF and Neo Global Development assured the community that these personal disputes “do not and will not affect NF’s or NGD’s day-to-day operations.” The statement also confirmed that NF and NGD financial reports are being prepared and are expected to be released in Q1 2026.

Zhang echoed this sentiment in a follow-up post, seeking to shift the focus back to development. He reaffirmed that Neo’s MainNet remains stable and that work on Neo v4.0 is progressing according to its roadmap. He outlined ongoing priorities including modular architecture, real-world asset integration, cross-chain interoperability, and stablecoin adoption. Emphasizing the need for rule-based governance and long-term institutional maturity, Zhang closed by stating, “Short-term controversy will pass; what ultimately defines Neo’s future is sustained delivery, active collaboration, and real-world adoption.”

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