Background of the ASI Alliance and its Key Players
The ASI Alliance, a significant merger involving three prominent crypto projects, has experienced internal friction leading to Ocean Protocol's withdrawal. The alliance initially comprised Ocean Protocol, Fetch.ai, and Singularity. While Fetch.ai and Singularity focus on developing and deploying autonomous AI agents for various tasks, Ocean Protocol's specialization lies in decentralized AI infrastructure, including access to AI models, datasets, and computing power. This divergence in focus is cited as a contributing factor to the alliance's challenges.
Early Conflicts and Ocean Protocol's Attempted Withdrawal
The alliance was announced in March 2024. Shortly after, Fetch.ai's CEO, Humaun Sheikh, made decisions that reportedly created conflict, such as mandating the use of the Fetch L1 chain, which could have excluded some of Ocean Protocol's existing partners. Recognizing potential issues, the Ocean Protocol team privately requested to exit the alliance less than two months later. Their communication was made in good faith to inform Fetch and Singularity.
Sheikh's initial response, as documented in an April 2024 blog post, was to threaten lawsuits with significant damages if Ocean Protocol were to leave. Legal disputes commenced in May and have continued.
Financial Dealings and Allegations of Mismanagement
During the summer of 2024 and continuing into the present, Fetch and Singularity reportedly sold $500 million worth of tokens, while Ocean Protocol sold none. Concerns were also raised in December 2024 regarding questionable ethics and the movement of funds and tokens between the Singularity Treasury wallet. Ocean Protocol has maintained that Sheikh, who controls Fetch, has not acted in good faith as a partner.
A significant point of contention arose with a TRNR deal in June 2025. Fetch.ai, independently of Ocean Protocol and without mentioning them in SEC filings, pursued an ETF deal. This deal involved funding from treasuries, including Ocean's, and a $50 million loan to ISI and market maker DWF. Ocean Protocol's team viewed this as an arrogant move, as it involved their treasury without consultation or approval.
The collateral for this ETF deal and loan was $FET. Due to market volatility and a liquidation event in October 2025, large amounts of $FET were liquidated, causing significant financial repercussions. This situation was described as a "mess" with no clear rationale other than ego or deepening relationships with controversial market makers.
In response to claims of mismanagement by the Ocean team regarding the "draining" of the Alliance Treasury, Ocean Protocol stated that they converted $OCEAN to $FET, as was their right, and moved tokens to OTC providers for liquidity in private trades. While acknowledging that such practices are not always favored, they are considered an accepted and legal method for treasury management and earning on tokens.
The ASI Alliance from Ocean’s Perspective
By @brucepon
People are rightly angry and frustrated. No one is a winner in this current state of unease, lack of information and transparency, and mudslinging. Ocean doesn’t see the benefit of throwing around unfounded and false… pic.twitter.com/YUfTQmvhxZ
— Ocean Protocol (@oceanprotocol) October 23, 2025
OceanDAO's New Services and Fetch.ai's Reaction
Meanwhile, Ocean Protocol continued to enhance its offerings for its community. One development included adding yield generation services for $OCEAN token holders. Following Fetch.ai's unilateral actions in the TRNR deal, Ocean Protocol sought to protect its community through its incorporation of Ocean Expeditions in the Cayman Islands. This move was perceived by Sheikh as a betrayal, as it limited the pledging or appropriation of the Ocean Treasury in ways the community might not approve. This pattern highlights Fetch.ai's apparent desire to control all funding and tokenomics decisions, even concerning Ocean Protocol and its community.
$FET Price Decline and Accusations
Fetch.ai's token, $FET, experienced a significant decline, dropping 90% since the alliance's announcement. While acknowledging that much of the market outside the top cryptocurrencies has performed poorly during this period, the article suggests that Fetch.ai's mismanagement of its treasury, exemplified by the TRNR deal with volatile collateral, led to this situation. Ocean Protocol refuted accusations of tanking the $FET price, asserting that Fetch.ai brought these issues upon themselves and were seeking a scapegoat.
Ocean Protocol's Departure and Future Outlook
After 18 months of ongoing disputes, Ocean Protocol officially announced its exit from the ASI Alliance. This decision coincided with the collateral liquidation for the TRNR deal. On the day of Ocean's announcement, $FET experienced a minor drop of two cents. The alliance reportedly lacked enforcement mechanisms and decentralization, particularly given Sheikh's control over Fetch and its influence on the partnership.
Ocean Protocol plans to continue its development of a decentralized infrastructure network for data and AI, enabling developers and smaller projects to build applications, protocols, or agents. The ASI Alliance, initially conceived as a collaborative effort to advance AI, appears to have been hampered by a lack of enforcement, clear rules, and fair dispute resolution mechanisms, suggesting it was potentially doomed from its inception. Ocean Protocol is now focused on its future endeavors.