The Ocean Protocol Foundation is embroiled in a controversy following allegations of misappropriating a significant amount of cryptocurrency, leading to a $250,000 bounty being placed on information related to the incident. The allegations center around the conversion and movement of a substantial amount of OCEAN tokens into Fetch.ai (FET) tokens, followed by their transfer to cryptocurrency exchanges.
The controversy arose after Ocean Protocol's withdrawal from the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance on October 9, 2025. The ASI Alliance, formed in March 2024, was a collaboration between Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET, with the goal of merging their tokens into a single ASI token.
On-chain data from Bubblemaps indicates that a multisignature wallet linked to Ocean Protocol converted approximately 661 million OCEAN tokens into 286 million FET tokens around July 1, 2025. At the time, these FET tokens were valued at around $191 million. These OCEAN tokens were initially intended for "community incentives" and "data farming". Further analysis shows that approximately 90 million FET were sent to GSR Markets, an over-the-counter (OTC) trading firm, on August 31. The remaining 196 million FET were then reportedly distributed to 30 newly created addresses, with most of these funds eventually being transferred to Binance or other OTC providers by mid-October.
Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh has publicly accused Ocean Protocol of misconduct, likening the token movements to a "rug pull". Sheikh has offered a $250,000 reward for information that uncovers the identities and connections of OceanDAO signatories to the Ocean Protocol Foundation.
Ocean Protocol CEO Bruce Pon has dismissed the allegations as "unfounded and baseless rumors". However, as of October 21, 2025, a formal response addressing the specific accusations has not been issued. Ocean Protocol's silence regarding the token transfers and the lack of clarification on the status of community allocation funds have fueled concerns among investors and alliance partners.
The alleged actions have had a tangible impact on the cryptocurrency market. The price of FET reportedly experienced a significant crash following the large conversions of OCEAN tokens to FET and their subsequent transfer to exchanges. This has led to potential litigation from Fetch.ai, which is reportedly planning to take legal action alongside users who suffered losses as a result of the alleged "dump".
The situation remains fluid, with the bounty offer and potential legal action adding further complexity. The crypto community is closely watching for further developments and official statements from the parties involved.
