A conflict between Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh and the Ocean Protocol Foundation has intensified into legal threats, blockchain accusations, and a response from Binance, all revolving around approximately 286 million Fetch.ai (FET) tokens valued at around $84 million.
The dispute originates from the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance, a merger in 2024 incorporating AI-centric crypto projects Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET under a unified token structure.
On Wednesday, Sheikh accused Ocean Protocol of minting and transferring millions of OCEAN tokens prior to the merger. He claimed that the project later exchanged them for FET and transferred significant amounts to centralized exchanges and market-making firms without adequate disclosure.
“If Ocean as an independent project did this, it would be classified as a rug pull,” Sheikh stated on X, noting that 719 million OCEAN were minted in 2023, with 661 million swapped for 286 million FET in July 2025. He asserted that portions of these tokens were later moved or liquidated.
Binance limits support for OCEAN tokens
In light of the escalating feud, crypto exchange Binance announced that it will stop supporting Ocean deposits starting next Monday, Oct. 20.
While the exchange noted that users can still deposit through other supported networks, it stated that ERC-20 deposits made after Oct. 20 “will not be credited and may result in asset loss.”
Although the exchange did not directly cite the dispute as the reason for its decision, the restriction on ERC-20 deposits indicates that the exchange may be implementing internal risk management or investigations, given that many contested tokens are on Ethereum.
Sheikh interpreted Binance’s move to halt support for the tokens as the exchange “listening” to his public appeals on X for an investigation into Ocean Protocol’s token transactions.
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Sheikh vows class-action lawsuits; Ocean Protocol reacts
Sheikh committed to financing class-action lawsuits across three or more jurisdictions and urged Binance, GSR, and ExaGroup to conduct investigations. He also encouraged FET tokenholders to gather evidence against Ocean Protocol, stating he would establish a channel for them to submit their claims.
Ocean Protocol responded on X, outright denying the allegations and labeling them as “unfounded claims and damaging rumors.”
In an official statement on X, the company affirmed that its treasury was secure and proposed waiving confidentiality regarding an adjudicator’s findings related to the conflict. Ocean alleged that Sheikh rejected this proposal.
“Ocean is operational and active,” the post stated. “We are preparing responses to the various baseless claims and allegations while adhering to the bounds of the law.”
The mention of an adjudicator implies that the dispute has already entered formal legal arbitration, likely under the framework governing the ASI Alliance’s token conversions.
Cointelegraph reached out to Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol, but had not received a reply before publication.
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