Key Takeaways
- Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai, offered a $250,000 bounty for information on the signatories of OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet and their connection to the Ocean Protocol Foundation.
- Ocean Protocol-linked team wallet allegedly converted approximately 661 million OCEAN tokens into 286 million FET tokens, worth about $120 million, and moved them to exchanges before or during the ASI Alliance merger without disclosure.
- The dispute stems from the 2024 ASI merger involving Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNet, which has since seen Ocean Protocol withdraw amid the controversy and legal threats.
Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh has announced a substantial $250,000 reward for verifiable information. Specifically, the bounty targets the individuals who signed transactions for the OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet and their precise connections to the Ocean Protocol Foundation. This escalation comes immediately after the CEO publicly alleged that an Ocean Protocol-linked wallet had misappropriated a significant volume of tokens.
The core of the dispute centers on the 2024 merger of the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance, a union intended to combine Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNet under a shared token framework.
Sheikh claims that, either before or during the merger, Ocean Protocol minted and transferred millions of OCEAN tokens, subsequently converting them into FET tokens (Fetch.ai’s native token) and moving them to centralized exchanges without the necessary community disclosures. The alleged total value of the tokens in question is estimated to be around $120 million.
$120 million $FET moved to Binance and OTC providers
While Ocean Protocol has vehemently denied the allegations, on-chain data analysis by platform Bubblemaps appears to corroborate some of Sheikh’s concerns. Bubblemaps pointed to an Ocean Protocol-linked multisignature wallet converting roughly 661 million OCEAN tokens into an estimated 286 million FET tokens.
The platform further reported that a significant portion of this total, approximately 270 million FET tokens, with a total value of around $120 million, was subsequently sent to major exchanges, including 160 million to Binance and 109 million to GSR Markets, an OTC provider.
Ocean Protocol claimed these tokens were reserved for “community incentives” and “data farming.” Despite the denial, Ocean Protocol officially withdrew from the ASI Alliance on October 9th, without providing any clarification regarding the controversial token transfers.
Legal and Market Fallout from the Dispute
The escalating conflict has quickly moved beyond social media. Fetch.ai CEO Sheikh has pledged to fund class-action lawsuits across multiple jurisdictions to seek accountability.
He also formally called on major financial institutions, including Binance and GSR, to launch their own investigations into the transfers. The market immediately felt the heat! In just 24 hours the $FET token plunged 9%.
Binance announced that it would stop processing $OCEAN deposits, however, Binance didn’t explicitly link to the feud, but the timing is hardly coincidental. Ocean Protocol has maintained a defensive posture, confirming it is preparing a formal rebuttal to what it describes as “various unfounded claims.”
Final Thoughts
Fetch.ai’s CEO just dropped a $250,000 bounty, dramatically escalating the fight over those “missing” ASI merger tokens. This isn’t just internal bickering; on-chain records already show huge, unannounced transfers, throwing the whole issue of crypto governance and transparency into sharp relief. The fallout has tanked the market and brought the threat of serious legal action to the alliance’s doorstep. It’s a full-blown crisis of confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Fetch.ai’s CEO offer a bounty?
He offered a $250,000 bounty for information on the OceanDAO multisig wallet signatories and their ties to the Ocean Protocol Foundation, following allegations of token misappropriation.
What were the tokens allegedly misappropriated?
The allegation is that 661 million OCEAN were converted into 286 million FET tokens (worth approximately $120 million) and moved to exchanges without proper disclosure during the ASI Alliance merger.
How has the crypto market reacted to the dispute?
The price of Fetch.ai’s FET token dropped by 9% shortly after the news, and Binance also ceased support for OCEAN token deposits.
