A conflict has intensified between Fetch.ai’s CEO Humayun Sheikh and the Ocean Protocol Foundation, evolving into threats of legal action and counterclaims linked to about 286 million Fetch.ai (FET) tokens valued at approximately $84 million.
The dispute originates from the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance, a merger in 2024 that unites AI-focused crypto initiatives, including Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET, under a collaborative token system.
On Wednesday, Sheikh made allegations that the Ocean Protocol had minted and transferred millions of OCEAN tokens ahead of the merger. He claimed that the project later converted these into FET and transferred substantial amounts to centralized exchanges and market-makers without proper announcements.
“If Ocean as a stand-alone project did this, it would be classed as a rug pull,” Sheikh commented on X, asserting that 719 million OCEAN were generated in 2023, where 661 million were swapped for 286 million FET in July 2025. He indicated that portions of these tokens were later either moved or liquidated.
Humayun Sheikh
Source: Humayun Sheikh
Binance Responds by Limiting OCEAN Token Support
In light of the ongoing clash, the crypto exchange Binance disclosed it would stop accepting deposits for Ocean tokens starting the upcoming Monday, October 20. While users may still deposit via other supported networks, all ERC-20 deposits made post-October 20 “will not be credited and may lead to asset loss.”
Although Binance did not cite the dispute explicitly as the reason for this decision, limiting ERC-20 deposits implies that the exchange may be undertaking internal risk evaluations, especially given that many of the contested tokens reside on Ethereum.
Sheikh indicated that Binance’s decision to cut support for the tokens reflects the exchange “listening” to his public calls on X to investigate the token transfers associated with Ocean Protocol.
Sheikh Plans Class-Action Lawsuits; Ocean Protocol Issues Rebuttal
Sheikh also announced intentions to finance class-action lawsuits across multiple jurisdictions and urged Binance, GSR, and ExaGroup to investigate. Moreover, he called upon FET tokenholders to compile evidence against Ocean Protocol, stating he would establish a channel for them to submit their claims.
Ocean Protocol responded to Sheikh’s allegations on X, dismissing them as “unfounded claims and harmful rumors.” In an official statement, the company affirmed that its treasury remains intact and proposed waiving confidentiality regarding an adjudicator’s findings related to the dispute—an offer Sheikh allegedly rejected.
“Ocean is functioning and active. We are preparing responses to these various unfounded claims while complying with legal requirements,” the company remarked.
The hint at an adjudicator indicates that the conflict might have entered formal legal arbitration, potentially under the legal framework that governed the ASI Alliance’s token conversions.
Cointelegraph attempted to contact Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol but did not receive a response prior to publication.
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