Fetch.ai CEO offers 250K reward over Ocean token misuse claims

TLDR

Fetch.ai CEO Sheikh offers $250K for info on OceanDAO wallet signers.
Ocean allegedly converted 661M OCEAN to 286M FET before ASI merger.
270M FET reportedly sent to Binance and GSR Markets after conversion.
Ocean left ASI alliance on October 9 with no comment on token moves

Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh has offered a $250,000 bounty for information identifying the signers of OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet. The move follows serious allegations regarding the handling of alliance-related funds by Ocean Protocol before the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance merger. This public offer has increased tensions between the projects and raised new questions about token management within blockchain alliances.

Token Movements Before the ASI Merger

According to blockchain data reviewed by analytics platform Bubblemaps, Ocean Protocol converted 661 million OCEAN tokens into 286 million FET tokens. These conversions reportedly happened before the official ASI merger involving Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNET.

Further analysis showed that 270 million FET tokens were later moved to major exchanges. Out of this, 160 million FET were sent to Binance and 109 million FET went to GSR Markets. These transfers triggered concerns from Fetch.ai leadership, who argue that the funds were intended for community use.

Sheikh’s Public Bounty and Accusations

On October 21, 2025, Humayun Sheikh posted on X (formerly Twitter) offering a $250,000 reward for information. He asked the public to help identify the signers of OceanDAO’s multisignature wallet and their link to the Ocean Protocol Foundation.

He stated, “Funds intended for the community were diverted,” calling the transfers a violation of the trust established for the ASI alliance. The ASI alliance aimed to unite leading blockchain-based AI platforms under one network for development and collaboration.

Ocean Protocol responded to the accusations, calling them “unfounded” and promising a formal statement. However, the project has not yet explained the token conversions or transfers to exchanges.

Exchange Activity and Legal Action

Binance disabled deposits for the OCEAN token on October 15, 2025. This happened several days before Sheikh’s public statement. Although Binance did not cite the token controversy as a reason, the timing has led to speculation within the crypto community.

Sheikh has also committed to financing class-action lawsuits in multiple countries. These legal efforts aim to investigate whether any rules or agreements were broken in the token conversions and fund transfers.

On-chain data will likely play a key role in these legal moves, especially as multisignature wallets are used for shared control in decentralized operations. The wallets require multiple users to approve each transaction.

Market Response and Alliance Status

Ocean Protocol officially exited the ASI alliance on October 9, 2025. The departure occurred before the public release of the token conversion data. Since then, the alliance has seen reduced community engagement and rising questions about its future.

As of October 21, 2025, Fetch.ai’s FET token was trading at approximately $0.25. This reflects a 9% drop in the last 24 hours and a decline of over 90% from its March 2024 high of $3.45.

OCEAN, Ocean Protocol’s native token, was also trading at about $0.25, down 4% over the previous day. Its all-time high was $1.93 in April 2021, placing the current price about 87% lower.

Both tokens have seen increased volatility amid the public dispute, and some holders have called for more transparency from both sides. The future of the ASI alliance remains uncertain following these developments.

The post Fetch.ai CEO offers 250K reward over Ocean token misuse claims appeared first on CoinCentral.

Crypto Pulpit