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

Tether Freezes $182 Million in Assets in One Day, Is USDT Still a Neutral Coin?

Error Prevented Content Extraction: Causes and Solutions
Key Takeaways Excessive requests can result in blocked access to data sources. Ensuring adherence to API usage policies…

80% of oil income settled in stablecoins, Venezuela makes USDT its second currency

After Stepping Down as Mayor of New York City, He Pivoted to Selling Cryptocurrency

AI Crypto Trading in 2026: How AI Assistants Are Reshaping Trading Platforms and Strategies
Learn how AI assistants support crypto trading decisions, improve risk awareness, and are becoming part of modern trading platforms and exchanges.

Life Candlestick Drama Escalates: Fund Established, 'Cyber Altruism Box' Feature Launched; Founder Denies Meme Coin Issuance

Dubai Bans Privacy Coins and Updates Stablecoin Regulations
Key Takeaways The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has completely prohibited privacy tokens within the Dubai International Financial…

New Drag-to-Set TP/SL Candlestick Chart Feature on Web
Make risk management more intuitive and efficient! The WEEX web platform is introducing the "Drag-to-set TP/SL" feature.

Crypto Rich Threaten to Depart California Amid New Tax Proposal
Key Takeaways Proposed California tax imposes a 5% assets tax on residents with over $1 billion, sparking debate…

zkSync Price Forecast – ZK Value Anticipated to Decline to $0.026629 by January 15, 2026
Key Takeaways zkSync’s current price is $0.034635, with an anticipated drop to $0.026629 by mid-January 2026. The crypto…

South Korea to Lift Longstanding Ban on Corporate Crypto Investments
Key Takeaways South Korea is lifting a nine-year ban on corporate cryptocurrency investments, allowing firms to invest up…

Coinbase May Withdraw Support for CLARITY Act Amid Stablecoin Rewards Ban Debate
Key Takeaways Potential Withdrawal: Coinbase is considering withdrawing support for the CLARITY Act if it restricts stablecoin rewards.…

Crypto Crucial: Will Tax Threats Push California’s Wealthiest to Flee?
Crypto billionaires in California are contemplating relocation due to a proposed wealth tax targeting assets over $1 billion.…

Crypto Project Failures Hit Record in 2025 Amid Memecoin Turbulence
Key Takeaways Memecoin launchpads have saturated the crypto market in 2025, leading to an unprecedented number of token…

UK Backbenchers Committee Demands Total Ban on Crypto Political Contributions
Key Takeaways: A group of senior Labour MPs are advocating for a total ban on cryptocurrency donations to…

Powell States Federal Reserve Targeted by DOJ, Trump Dismisses Interest Rate Ties
Key Takeaways Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed that the Justice Department issued subpoenas to the central bank…

Senate Agriculture Chair Considers Postponement of Crypto Bill Vote Amid Growing Bipartisan Discussions
Key Takeaways: Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman considers delaying the upcoming vote on the cryptocurrency legislation as bipartisan…

AI Trading in 2026: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Shift Toward Changing Crypto Trading
In early 2026, AI has returned to the center of the crypto market — not as a short-lived narrative, but as part of trading infrastructure. AI-powered tokens continue to attract attention, while AI-assisted trading tools are increasingly embedded into exchanges, strategy platforms, and risk systems. For traders, the key question is no longer whether AI will be used, but how it changes execution, risk control, and decision-making in practice. Understanding this shift requires separating market narratives from the actual mechanics of AI-driven trading.
Tether Freezes $182 Million in Assets in One Day, Is USDT Still a Neutral Coin?
Error Prevented Content Extraction: Causes and Solutions
Key Takeaways Excessive requests can result in blocked access to data sources. Ensuring adherence to API usage policies…
80% of oil income settled in stablecoins, Venezuela makes USDT its second currency
After Stepping Down as Mayor of New York City, He Pivoted to Selling Cryptocurrency
AI Crypto Trading in 2026: How AI Assistants Are Reshaping Trading Platforms and Strategies
Learn how AI assistants support crypto trading decisions, improve risk awareness, and are becoming part of modern trading platforms and exchanges.