Introduction
Fetch.AI CEO Humayun Sheikh has escalated a bitter crypto feud by offering a $250,000 bounty to expose Ocean Protocol’s activities, alleging the project liquidated millions of FET tokens worth approximately $120 million. The accusations, which Sheikh characterized as a potential ‘rug pull,’ come just months after Ocean Protocol’s abrupt departure from their joint Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance and have triggered significant price declines and capital flight from the FET token.
Key Points
- Ocean Protocol allegedly converted 661 million OCEAN tokens into 286 million FET worth $191 million in July, then transferred approximately 270 million FET ($120M) to exchanges and OTC providers
- Fetch.AI's CEO is personally funding class action lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions for affected token holders and creating a claims submission channel
- FET price has declined 92.6% from its all-time high with analysts reporting capital flight and declining smart money participation amid the feud
The $250,000 Bounty and Alleged Token Dump
The conflict between Fetch.AI and Ocean Protocol reached new heights on Tuesday when Fetch.AI CEO Humayun Sheikh publicly offered a $250,000 reward to anyone who could ‘uncover the OceanDAO signatories and their connections to Ocean Foundation.’ This dramatic move follows Sheikh’s allegations last week that Ocean Protocol had swapped 661.2 million OCEAN tokens minted in 2023 for 286.4 million FET tokens this July and had been systematically liquidating them over the past three months. Sheikh didn’t mince words in his assessment, stating that ‘Ocean as stand alone project did this it would be classed as a rug pull.’
The timing of these allegations is particularly significant given the recent history between the two projects. In mid-2024, Fetch.AI, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET had merged to form the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance, combining their tokens under a shared FET framework. However, on October 9, Ocean Protocol Foundation announced its immediate departure from the alliance, setting the stage for the current confrontation. The alleged token movements occurred during the period following the merger but preceding Ocean’s official exit.
On-Chain Evidence and $120 Million in Transfers
Data analytics platform Bubblemaps provided a detailed timeline of Ocean Protocol’s token movements that appears to support Sheikh’s allegations. According to their analysis, Ocean Protocol’s team wallet (0x4D9B) converted 661 million OCEAN into 286 million FET, worth approximately $191 million at the time, on July 1. The platform noted that despite the ASI Alliance merger, Ocean Protocol had maintained large OCEAN token reserves for alleged ‘community incentives’ and ‘data farming.’
Bubblemaps’ investigation revealed that Ocean Protocol’s team wallet subsequently sent 90 million FET to over-the-counter (OTC) provider GSR Markets. On August 31, the remaining 196 million FET were distributed across 30 new addresses. By October 14, most of these addresses had transferred their holdings to either Binance or back to GSR Markets. The analytics platform estimated that approximately 160 million tokens were sent to Binance, while 109 million FET went to GSR Markets, totaling around 270 million tokens valued at approximately $120 million.
While Bubblemaps cautiously noted that ‘we can’t confirm whether the $FET tokens were sold by Ocean Protocol, although such transfers are typically associated with liquidation,’ the pattern of movement from the protocol’s multisig wallet to major exchanges and OTC desks strongly suggests liquidation activity. The sheer scale of these transfers—representing nearly the entire 286 million FET obtained in the July swap—has raised serious questions about Ocean Protocol’s intentions and compliance with alliance agreements.
Market Impact and Legal Ramifications
The public feud and allegations have taken a severe toll on FET’s market performance and investor confidence. Analyst Cryptor highlighted that FET’s Top PnL Leaderboard shows ‘almost everyone over the past 30 days has fully exited their positions,’ while Smart Money Flows have been declining for nearly a year. The token has retraced over 92.6% from its $3.45 all-time high and was trading at $0.25 at the time of reporting, representing an 8.3% decline in the daily timeframe alone.
Cryptor emphasized the significance of these capital outflows, stating that ‘you want segments like Top PnL traders, Smart Money, and funds to stay onboard because they set the tone for market behavior. The data shows hesitation and capital leaving, which is to me a clear sign that confidence hasn’t returned. Price might hold temporarily, but without their participation, volatility rises quickly.’ This analysis underscores how the controversy has fundamentally shaken market structure around the FET token.
Beyond market impacts, Humayun Sheikh has vowed to personally fund ‘three or more class action lawsuits in different jurisdictions’ and has instructed affected FET holders to ‘be ready with your evidence.’ He announced plans to create a dedicated channel for claims submission, signaling that legal battles may extend beyond the current public dispute. Ocean Protocol has responded by calling the accusations ‘unfounded claims and harmful rumors’ and stated their team was ‘preparing responses to the various unfounded claims and allegations while respecting the ambits of the law,’ though their official X account had not published a detailed response at the time of writing.
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