The Neo blockchain project is embroiled in a significant public leadership crisis as its two co-founders, Erik Zhang and Da Hongfei, have engaged in a heated dispute over financial transparency and control of the project's treasury. The conflict, first reported by Wu Blockchain, centers on accusations of withheld financial reports and excessive centralization of power.
Erik Zhang has publicly accused Da Hongfei of failing to provide a full, verifiable financial disclosure for the Neo Foundation. Zhang is demanding an immediate and detailed report on all of the Foundation's assets and expenditures. He also confirmed that Da Hongfei will step back from direct involvement in Neo's mainnet development starting January 1, 2026, to focus on side projects like the cross-chain protocol NeoX and the blockchain operating system SpoonOS.
In a response on X, Da Hongfei countered these allegations, turning the focus onto Zhang's own control. Hongfei claimed that Zhang controls the "super majority" of the Neo treasury and dictates the voting of the network's consensus nodes, making Zhang's request for financial disclosure ironic. He argued that no single person should wield such centralized control over a blockchain project.
Hongfei further alleged that he had repeatedly asked Zhang to transfer NEO and GAS tokens from personal custody to the Neo Foundation's multi-signature wallet addresses, a standard security practice, but that Zhang consistently delayed the process. Hongfei stated he had avoided making the dispute public earlier to protect community confidence but now regrets not speaking out sooner due to Zhang's continued stalling.
As a partial resolution, Da Hongfei committed to releasing a financial report for the Neo Foundation/Neo Global Development in the first half of 2026, with preliminary figures shared as they become available. However, he emphasized this should not be seen as a concession to Zhang's accusations but rather as an effort to bring full disclosure of resources to light. Hongfei reaffirmed his commitment to the Neo community and the project's long-term development.
The public feud comes at a sensitive time for the project, originally launched as Antshares in 2014 and rebranded to Neo in 2017. Industry experts, like blockchain governance specialist Dr. Sarah Chen, note that such tensions reflect broader challenges in the sector as projects initially built by centralized teams attempt to transition to decentralized governance. The dispute raises critical questions about investor confidence, governance clarity, and the platform's strategic direction amidst intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
