Long-standing domestic public blockchain NEO sees feud between two co-founders, with opaque finances as the core reason
It's unexpected to see even the long-standing domestic public chain having such a day. What's even more lamentable is that the domestic top AI projects Manus, Kimi, and Minimax have had consecutive heavyweight news for two days in a row. Either they were acquired for tens of billions of dollars, or they received billions in financing. However, the long-standing public chain has surprisingly started to have a falling out.
Currently, it seems that the two co-founders of the NEO public chain established in 2014, Zhang Zhongwen (Erik Zhang) and Da Hongfei, have basically completely fallen out, and they are still continuously bickering on Weibo. Based on the statements of both parties and public information online, an attempt has been made to figure out what exactly happened between the two founders of this long-standing public chain.
Financial Black Box
In fact, Zhang Zhongwen had already left NEO a few years ago, which he also confirmed on his own Twitter, and then officially returned in September this year. The catalyst for this falling out was in November when, according to community sources and public records, Zhang Zhongwen, as the technical core, encountered obstacles when seeking to obtain a detailed financial report and fund flow of the Neo Foundation.

Following this, Zhang Zhongwen accused the Neo Foundation of long-term opaque operation, with the asset situation resembling a "black box." He pointed out that Da Hongfei had long been in sole control of the Foundation's assets other than NEO/GAS tokens, and there was a lack of a comprehensive, auditable disclosure mechanism.
In today's back-and-forth between the two sides, we also discovered the reason why Zhang Zhongwen had left before. He said that Da Hongfei had approached him alone, saying that the two of them were inefficient in managing NEO, so he chose to temporarily step down from the management team in order to "increase efficiency." However, he found that Da Hongfei was using NEO's resources to develop an independent public chain project, EON. This also prompted his return and involvement in Foundation governance.
In a community discussion in November, Zhang Zhongwen had previously stated that NEO had relied on hackathons to create a "false prosperity" before, with no real users, and many hackathon projects disappeared after winning awards.
Escalation of Conflict
In December, Zhang Zhongwen publicly released a statement demanding that Da Hongfei fulfill his commitment to financial disclosure starting from December 9. Even more explosively, Zhang Zhongwen unilaterally announced that, according to a previous verbal agreement between the two, starting from January 1, 2026, Da Hongfei would no longer be involved in NEO MainNet affairs but would instead focus on the NeoX sidechain and the development and operation of the new project SpoonOS.
Da Hongfei promptly responded, stating that Zhang Zhongwen effectively controlled the vast majority of the funds in the NEO ecosystem (including core assets NEO and GAS tokens) and dominated the voting rights of consensus nodes. He also accused Zhang Zhongwen of delaying the transfer of funds to the Foundation's multisig address for years under various pretexts (such as waiting for the N3 migration to complete).
Dahongfei has committed to releasing the year-end financial report for 2025 in the first quarter of 2026 and will provide a preview of the data in advance.
You may also like

Ray Dalio's new article: The world is entering a war cycle

IOSG: When Fintech Meets Crypto Native: The Next Decade of Digital Finance

They knew in advance that Trump would tweet about a ceasefire, entered with $20k, and exited with $400k.

The biggest bottleneck in DeFi development

CZ Memoir Released: Reveals a Large Amount of Industry Insider Information, Prompting Intense Rebuttal from Xu Mingxing

a16z: After securities are on the blockchain, why will intermediary institutions be replaced by code?

XRP Tokyo Is Here: What We Learn and What’s Next for XRP Price
Key Takeaways: Ripple’s 2025 XRP Tokyo event highlights a projected $33 trillion on-chain stablecoin volume by 2026. Significant…

Solana’s Future: Navigating the $285M Hack, Rug Pulls, and Milei Libra Scandal
Key Takeaways: Multiple Crises: Solana faces a $285 million hack, allegations of rug pulls, and the Milei Libra…

BTC USD Faces Tension: Markets React to Trump’s Dire Warning
Key Takeaways: Bitcoin’s price drops sharply below $70,000 amid geopolitical tensions, playing off Trump’s dramatic 8 PM ultimatum…

Bitcoin Price Surge: Ceasefire Sparks Optimism Hits $71K
Key Takeaways: After the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, Bitcoin surged beyond $71,000, marking its highest in a month. A…

Ethereum Price Forecast: Record $180 Billion Stablecoin Supply Marks Buyers’ Return
Key Takeaways: Ethereum’s stablecoin supply has surged to a record $180 billion, marking a 150% increase over the…

Emerging Evidence Links Argentina’s Milei to LIBRA Crypto Scandal
Key Takeaways: Evidence unveiled by Argentina’s federal prosecutors links President Javier Milei to the LIBRA token through call…

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Surge as BTC Nears $70K; LiquidChain and Layer-3 DeFi Rise
Key Takeaways: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed $471 million in a single day, moving BTC closer to the…

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Decoupling from Tech Stocks, Shaped by Geopolitics and AI Turmoil
Key Takeaways: Bitcoin is decoupling from tech stocks as geopolitical tensions and AI crises reshape the market, currently…

Chaos Labs Departure Leaves Aave Without Risk Management Amidst Governance Conflict
Key Takeaways: Aave, with a $50 billion TVL, is currently operating without a risk manager due to Chaos…

Grayscale Ethereum ETF Staking: A New Catalyst for $5,700?
Key Takeaways: Grayscale’s Ethereum Staking ETF introduces a yield-bearing structure that could significantly reshape investor sentiment. Ethereum’s price…

Polygon Crypto Enhances Finality Through the Giugliano Hardfork
Key Takeaways: Polygon’s Giugliano hardfork is operational on the mainnet, effectively reducing transaction finality by 2 seconds. The…

Senate’s Three-Week Deadline: Ripple XRP and the CLARITY Act’s Critical Moment
Key Takeaways: The Senate Banking Committee’s decision on the CLARITY Act in late April could define XRP’s future…
