Tensions between Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh and the Ocean Protocol Foundation have intensified, leading to legal warnings, on-chain accusations, and a direct response from Binance. The conflict revolves around approximately 286 million FET tokens, valued at around $84 million.
The dispute originates from the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance, a 2024 collaboration that united Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET under one shared token model aimed at advancing AI-related blockchain innovation.
On Wednesday, Sheikh accused Ocean Protocol of minting and moving millions of OCEAN tokens ahead of the merger. He further claimed the project converted those tokens into FET and transferred significant amounts to centralized exchanges and market-making firms without transparency.
“If Ocean acted independently like this, it would be considered a rug pull,” Sheikh said on X. He alleged that 719 million OCEAN were minted in 2023, of which 661 million were swapped for 286 million FET in July 2025 — part of which he believes were later liquidated or relocated.
Binance halts OCEAN token deposits
As the controversy grew, Binance announced that it would suspend support for OCEAN deposits starting October 20.
The exchange stated that while users could continue depositing via other supported networks, ERC-20 deposits made after October 20 would not be credited and could potentially result in asset loss.
Although Binance did not directly link the decision to the ongoing dispute, the move implies internal risk assessments or investigations, particularly as most of the disputed OCEAN tokens are on Ethereum.
Sheikh interpreted Binance’s decision as a positive signal, suggesting the exchange was “responding” to his repeated public requests to review Ocean Protocol’s transactions.
Legal action looms as both sides respond
Sheikh announced his intent to fund class-action lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions and called on Binance, GSR, and ExaGroup to investigate the token movements. He also urged FET holders to prepare and submit evidence against Ocean Protocol through a dedicated claims channel.
In response, Ocean Protocol denied all allegations on X, calling them “false accusations and damaging rumors.”
In its official statement, the foundation asserted that its treasury remains untouched and revealed it had suggested waiving confidentiality over findings from an independent adjudicator — a proposal Sheikh allegedly rejected.
“Ocean continues to operate normally,” the statement said. “We are preparing formal responses to these baseless claims while adhering to legal boundaries.”
The mention of an adjudicator indicates that the conflict has likely reached a formal arbitration stage, possibly under the merger framework that governed the ASI Alliance’s token transition process.
