- Erik Zhang demands full financial disclosure from Da Hongfei to address long-standing governance concerns.
- Da Hongfei criticizes Zhang’s control over Neo treasury and delays in multisig asset transfers.
- Neo plans leadership reorganization; Da Hongfei shifts focus to NeoX and SpoonOS, while transparency efforts continue.
A public spat has erupted between Neo co-founders Erik Zhang and Da Hongfei, leaving the blockchain space shaken. The situation has been brewing for weeks but escalated on December 31 as each issued a detailed press release regarding the matter of Neo governance, treasury management, and finances.
Erik Zhang criticized Da Hongfei for failing to provide clear financial reports, calling for a “complete and verifiable financial report to the community, including a detailed inventory of all assets managed by the Neo Foundation (NF), as well as a full breakdown of all expenditures.” According to Zhang, transparency is essential to address “the community’s long-standing and legitimate concerns regarding governance.”
However, Da Hongfei responded with pointed criticism of Zhang’s control over the treasury. He wrote, “It is ironic to be asked for ‘financial disclosure’ by the very person who controls the super majority of Neo’s treasury, dictates the voting of consensus nodes, and has shown no hesitation to hijack the protocol at the expense of the community and token holders.”
He further emphasized that blockchain projects cannot function under “one man’s custody” and expressed frustration over repeated delays in transferring Neo assets to multisig addresses.
Escalation and Immediate Actions
This has triggered an urgent need for role readjustments within the Neo ecosystem. Erik Zhang announced that Da Hongfei would only work on NeoX and Spoon OS. From January 1, 2026, Da Hongfei would not participate in Neo Mainnet governance. Following these readjustments, Zhang hopes that this would enhance financial transparency.
Meanwhile, Da Hongfei pledged to release preliminary financial figures in early 2026 Q1, along with an end-of-2025 financial report. “Before then, I will share preliminary figures as they become available. However, this release must not be viewed as a concession to Erik’s framing of the issue,” he clarified. Moreover, he reiterated his long-term commitment to Neo, promising to enforce strict fiscal discipline given current resource constraints.
