The prolonged disagreement between Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol seems close to being settled, as both sides have agreed to return
286 million FET tokens
—valued at roughly $120 million at the time of the disputed transaction—back to the Fetch.ai community. This agreement,
revealed by Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh
during an X Spaces discussion, is intended to prevent a lengthy court case and help rebuild confidence in the AI-blockchain industry. Sheikh mentioned that Fetch.ai will
withdraw all legal actions
provided Ocean Protocol officially returns the tokens, with the process possibly concluding as soon as Friday.
The conflict, which became one of the most widely discussed disputes in the AI and blockchain world, began after the 2024 formation of the
ASI Alliance
—a partnership bringing together Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET. The alliance was created to unify decentralized AI infrastructure by standardizing their token systems, with
FET
as the primary token. However, relations soured in mid-2025 when Fetch.ai accused Ocean Protocol of
swapping 661 million OCEAN tokens
for 286 million FET tokens and moving much of these to centralized exchanges such as Binance and GSR Markets. According to blockchain analytics provider
Bubblemaps reported
, 160 million FET tokens were transferred to Binance and 109 million to GSR Markets, intensifying claims of misappropriation.
Ocean Protocol has repeatedly
rejected any allegations of misconduct
, maintaining that its treasury operations were open and in line with governance rules. In a blog post, Ocean founder Bruce Pon blamed the 93% drop in FET’s value—from a 2024 high of $3.22 to about $0.26—on overall market instability, liquidity challenges, and large FET sales by other alliance partners. The foundation also accused Fetch.ai and SingularityNET of compromising decentralization by hastily merging and disregarding audit advice. Despite these points, Sheikh emphasized that returning the tokens would let both parties “safeguard the community and move ahead” without resorting to lawsuits.
This resolution carries weight for the AI-blockchain field, which has faced doubts over transparency and governance. Since the ASI merger, Fetch.ai’s FET token has dropped more than 93% in value, while Ocean’s OCEAN token has also declined, recently trading at $0.30 after a 4% daily fall. Experts suggest the agreement could help restore investor trust, especially as the crypto sector faces broader instability. GeoStaking, a validator node that helped mediate the negotiations, confirmed Ocean Protocol’s readiness to return the tokens once a formal request is made, with news sources indicating the two sides are
preparing to resolve the conflict
.
This episode underscores the difficulties of running decentralized organizations, where differing governance approaches and liquidity plans can spark public disputes. Although the ASI Alliance set out to lead decentralized AI development, its breakup—after Ocean Protocol’s exit in October—highlighted the fragility of such partnerships. Should the token return go through, it may represent a fresh start for both projects, allowing them to concentrate on technological progress instead of legal strife; observers have cautioned that the dispute
threatens the ASI Alliance’s future
.
