Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol Move Toward Peace Deal

Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh has offered to drop all legal claims and cover legal costs if Ocean returns the tokens. The feud escalated after Sheikh accused Ocean of misappropriation and offered a $250,000 bounty for wallet information, but it may soon end without litigation. Ocean founder Bruce Pon has denied wrongdoing.

Fetch.ai Offers Truce in Ocean Protocol Dispute

The ongoing dispute between Fetch.ai and the Ocean Protocol Foundation may soon reach a resolution, as both sides now seem willing to settle their differences without resorting to further legal action. Fetch.ai CEO Humayun Sheikh announced on Thursday that his company would drop all pending legal claims if Ocean Protocol agreed to return the 286 million FET tokens that were allegedly sold during the two firms’ merger.

During an X Spaces session, Sheikh said, “The offer is simple: give my community back the tokens. I will drop every legal claim,” adding that a formal proposal could be submitted as soon as Friday. He also offered to cover the legal costs associated with the agreement. 

GeoStaking, a FET-based validator node that helped mediate discussions, confirmed that Ocean Protocol is willing to return the tokens if the proposal is officially put in writing. The move could bring an end to a bitter feud that has seen public accusations and tensions between the two projects in the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI). 

The disagreement centers on allegations that an Ocean Protocol-linked multisignature wallet converted roughly 661 million Ocean tokens into 286 million FET tokens. These tokens were worth about $120 million at the time. The wallet then transferred large amounts to Binance and GSR Markets.

Ocean Protocol denied any wrongdoing, but the situation intensified after Sheikh offered a $250,000 reward for information on the signatories of the OceanDAO multisignature wallet and their connection to the foundation.

Ocean founder Bruce Pon pushed back against the allegations by stating that the dramatic 93% drop in FET’s price—from $3.22 in March of 2024 to around $0.26—was due to broader market conditions and not Ocean’s actions. He even accused SingularityNet and Fetch.ai of draining liquidity from the ecosystem by selling large amounts of FET tokens and said Ocean left the ASI Alliance “in good conscience.” Pon also promised to release a detailed rebuttal addressing each of the claims that were made against the foundation.

If finalized, the proposed agreement could bring an end to the months-long public clash that seriously strained relations between members of the AI-focused crypto alliance.