The post Neo Co-Founder Proposes $461M Overhaul to End ‘Trust Me’ Governance appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Neo co-founder Da Hongfei has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the Neo Foundation after years of deadlock with co-founder Erik Zhang left one of crypto’s oldest networks effectively paralyzed. The plan follows Neo’s first public financial disclosure since 2019, showing about $461 million in assets held across the Neo Foundation (NF) and Neo Global Development (NGD) at the end of 2025. The proposed restructuring aims to replace what Hongfei described as informal, founder-driven governance, arguing the outcome could serve as a test case for how aging blockchain networks manage large treasuries and transition away from founder control. Zhang has pushed back on key elements of the proposal, exposing further divisions at the top of the project and increasing scrutiny from users and investors. Hongfei told Cointelegraph that at the core of the restructuring is a break with the founder-centric model that defined Neo’s first decade. The proposal would redomicile the foundation to the Cayman Islands, create a five-member board and an independent Supervisor with power to block bylaw breaches, and impose a 24-month ban on either founder sitting on the board or supervisory body.  Neo’s fight has become a case study in how older blockchain networks with large treasuries struggle to move beyond founder-centric governance, especially after years of informal control and limited public financial disclosure. Related: Aave DAO approves $25M funding grant, token allocation for Aave Labs Returning NEO tokens to the community According to the disclosure, NF and NGD currently control about 41 million NEO (31.3%), mainly under single-signature control. Hongfei’s “Giveback II” plan would return 49.5 million reserved NEO (NEO) to the community and consolidate NGD-managed investments back into the foundation, which would operate under mandatory annual financial reports, onchain attestations for large transfers, and fully disclosed multi-signature wallets for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), stablecoins and other liquid assets.…

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Filed under: News - @ April 18, 2026 12:18 am