Fetch.ai CEO threatens class action against Ocean Protocol

A high-stakes feud between two leading AI-focused blockchain projects, Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol, has erupted into a legal and public relations storm.

What began as an internal disagreement within the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance has now spiralled into public accusations, on-chain revelations, and an intervention from crypto exchange Binance.

Allegations over token transfers

The dispute centres on about 286 million Fetch.ai (FET) tokens — worth roughly $84 million — that were allegedly linked to Ocean Protocol’s actions before and after the ASI token merger.

The merger, formed in 2024, aimed to unite Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET under a shared token framework to strengthen their collective position in the AI and blockchain sectors.

However, Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh now claims that Ocean Protocol mishandled large amounts of tokens tied to that merger.

In a detailed post on X, Sheikh alleged that the Ocean Protocol Foundation minted and transferred 719 million OCEAN tokens in May 2023.

Sheikh further claimed that by July 2025, more than 661 million of those tokens were swapped for 286 million FET, and that significant portions were later sent to exchanges and market-making firms without proper disclosure.

Sheikh provided specific on-chain data, citing wallet addresses and transaction dates.

He claimed that over 76 million FET were transferred to one wallet, with about 21 million eventually sent to Binance and 55 million linked to an address associated with market maker GSR.

Another 13.5 million FET allegedly went to a wallet funded by ExaGroup.

He said that the remaining tokens were later distributed across multiple Gnosis Safe wallets in August 2025 and have “mostly moved to Binance.”

Binance restricts deposits of Ocean Protocol’s ERC-20 tokens

Amid the turmoil, Binance announced that it will restrict deposits of Ocean Protocol’s ERC-20 tokens starting October 20.

The exchange warned that deposits made after that date “will not be credited and may lead to asset loss.”

Although Binance did not directly cite the Fetch.ai–Ocean dispute as the reason, Sheikh interpreted the move as a sign that the exchange was taking his public calls for investigation seriously.

Industry watchers noted that the timing and the nature of the restriction — targeting ERC-20 deposits — suggest internal risk assessments, possibly linked to Ocean’s disputed on-chain activities.

Class action and legal escalation

Sheikh maintains that the actions taken by Ocean Protocol have damaged not only FET holders but also the credibility of the broader ASI Alliance.

He has vowed to personally fund class-action lawsuits in at least three jurisdictions.

He called on FET holders who suffered losses during what he called “the Ocean action” to prepare evidence and submit claims once a formal channel is opened.

Sheikh also urged Binance, GSR, and ExaGroup to investigate the transfers, describing the situation as “something that would be classed as a rug pull” if done by a stand-alone project.

Ocean denies allegations

Ocean Protocol has firmly denied the accusations.

In a statement issued on X, the foundation said it remains “working and active” and described Sheikh’s posts as “unfounded claims and harmful rumours.”

The statement suggested Ocean is preparing a detailed legal and public response while adhering to legal boundaries.

Ocean Protocol asserted that its treasury remains safe and will continue to be used for the benefit of the Ocean community.

Ocean also revealed that an adjudicator had already reviewed aspects of the dispute under the ASI Alliance’s merger framework.

The foundation said it had offered to waive confidentiality so that the findings could be made public, but claimed Sheikh refused.