If you follow AI, you’ve probably seen this big story that for some reason not many people are talking about. We are talking about Ocean Protocol leaving the ASI Alliance. This is a complex decision with many factors to consider.
Let’s take a look at the events behind Ocean’s departure.
Introduction of major players
First, the partnership involves three projects, making it the largest crypto merger involving tokens we’ve seen to date. we have
- ocean protocol
- fetch eye
- singularity
I’m not really into all the projects right now. However, one of the reasons for the conflict and this eventual business divorce is that the projects focus on different areas. Especially the sea. Fetch and Singularity both focus on building and deploying autonomous AI agents. So they’re building things like agent app stores to help people find agents in finance operations and healthcare. That’s great. But Ocean isn’t like that.
Ocean is further involved in decentralized AI infrastructure. This includes access to AI models and datasets, and the computing power needed for AI models. Both are great goals and necessary developments for AI in cryptocurrencies to succeed. Still, they are very different from each other.
simple question
But first a simple question. you get married Then you find out that your spouse expects to have access to your account at all times, but you don’t give them access to your account. The moment something goes wrong, it’s all your fault. The first step is to threaten to consult a lawyer instead of discussing it. You married your spouse, only to discover that your mother is in charge of his or her entire financial life.
What is your occupation? Do you want to stay married? Or will you admit your mistake and cut your losses? Well, keep that in mind for what you’re about to hear…
Next, we will discuss the events that led to Ocean’s departure.
Announcement and short honeymoon
The announcement of the partnership is March 2024. Immediately after that, CEO Humaun Sheikh said, fetch eyemade some heavy-handed and (some say) questionable decisions. These include the need to use the Fetch L1 chain, which locks out many of Ocean’s existing partners.
And we know that this is not the way to make a new marriage, business, etc. successful. Everyone has to compromise something.
I think this is why it’s being discontinued. But what is the business equivalent?
Less than two months later, Ocean Team realized they had made a mistake and asked to leave the alliance. All of this was done privately and in good faith for the notice of both Fetch and Singularity.
Shake’s first reply. His email can be found at: this blog post The April 2024 section threatened to sue Ocean for large sums of money if he left. The legal dispute began in May. And they still continue…
Meanwhile, starting in the summer of 2024 and continuing today, Fetch and Singularity sold $500 million worth of tokens. And Ocean didn’t sell anything. This does not take into account the reckless spending and questionable ethics of moving funds and tokens to and from the Singularity Treasury wallet, as reported in December 2024.
Long story short, a lot of shady things were going on, leaving Ocean and its community in big trouble. Ocean’s consistent position was that Sheikh, who controlled Fetch, was not acting in good faith as a full partner should.
Do you remember my simple question from earlier?
TRNR trading
In other words, Ocean’s partners are free to use Ocean’s money. Or trying to do so. And that ends with this contract for TRNR in June 2025.
Imagine having a partner who pledges a large sum of the Treasury to back a loan you don’t know about or approve of. Additionally, using volatile crypto assets may result in margin calls.
That’s ridiculous, right? I mean, who would do that? Well, read on to find out….
Although independent of Ocean and Ocean not listed in its SEC filings, Fetch engaged in ETF trading. This includes financing from US Treasuries (including Oceans) and a $50 million loan to ISI and market maker DWF. It’s a pretty arrogant move on Fetch’s part to think he can do such a big deal involving Oceans Treasury, but not even consult or mention it, let alone get Oceans Treasury to agree to it. That’s ridiculous. No one would put up with that kind of behavior in a partnership.
That was in June. Subsequently, thanks to market volatility and a major liquidation event on October 10th, a large amount of $FET used to back this trade was liquidated.
What a mess. $FET is the collateral for ETF trades and loans and is called and liquidated. There wasn’t even a good reason for it, other than it boosted their ego by owning an ETF or deepened their relationship with one of the industry’s biggest and most controversial market makers. That makes no sense at all.
Response to complaints regarding mismanagement of Ocean Tokens
There are also misguided claims that Ocean Team tried to “deplete” the Alliance’s treasury. Now that I don’t have access to Fetch or Singularity funds, this claim seems a bit ridiculous. But what the team did, and the answer is in X below, was to convert $OCEAN to $FET, as is their right, and then move the tokens to an OTC provider to ensure liquidity for private trading. Although we don’t necessarily welcome projects to do this, it is an accepted and legal way to help manage your treasury and earn revenue with those tokens. Some might argue that our markets might be better and more open without OTCs and market makers like DWF and Wintermute. However, liquidity will also decline, making trading more difficult and likely preventing financial institutions from participating in the market at all. So it’s not an all-or-nothing deal.
ASI Alliance from a maritime perspective
by @bluespon
It’s natural for people to be angry and frustrated. In this current state of uncertainty, lack of information and transparency, and mud-slinging, no one wins. Ocean doesn’t see the benefit of spreading baseless lies… pic.twitter.com/YUfTQmvhxZ
— Ocean Protocol (@oceanprotocol) October 23, 2025
OceanDAO adds services
In the meantime, Ocean remains committed to improving conditions in our communities. One way to achieve that is by adding services such as yield generation for $OCEAN token holders.
Because Fetch acted unilaterally in the TRNR contract, Ocean sought to protect the community by incorporating Ocean Expeditions in the Cayman Islands.
Understandably, the Sheikh saw this as a betrayal, since the Maritime Treasury cannot commit pledges, theft, or anything else that the community would disapprove of at large.
You can see the current themes here. Fetch wants to control all decisions regarding funding and tokenomics. Even when it involves Ocean and its community. That’s enough reason to worry.
$FET price tank
Now, let’s talk about finger pointing. Since the announcement of the alliance, Fetch has declined by 90%. And to be fair, most markets outside of the top 20 or 30 and some meme coins have been terrible during this same period.
Yet Ocean is accused of tanking $FET while Fetch mismanages the Treasury with trades like the TRNR trade using this stupidly volatile collateral.
It’s unlikely.
It’s clear that Fetch brought this on themselves and is trying to put the blame on someone else.
Ocean leaves the Alliance
After 18 months of this nonsense, Ocean Protocol finally had enough and called it quits. That was around the same time as TRNR’s collateral liquidation. And on the day of the announcement, $FET only fell 2 cents, from 55 cents to 53 cents.
The Alliance had no built-in enforcement mechanisms to bind the decisions made by its partners. It was also less decentralized, which was important to Ocean and its community. Not really, considering all the control the Sheikh has over the fetch, or partnership.
What’s next?
This is an important question. Ocean has a proud and active community. And while some converted their tokens, some did not. We will discuss it and its implications in the next article.
There are several legal issues to resolve at this time. And no one knows how long it will take. The Ocean Protocol project continues. They will continue to build a decentralized infrastructure network for data and AI. This gives developers and small projects what they need to build apps, protocols, and agents.
An artificial superintelligence alliance seemed like a good idea. Three projects that took time to establish. And they wanted to move themselves and AI forward. Lacking law enforcement, rules, and ways to fairly manage conflicts, the alliance seems doomed from the beginning. Ocean Protocol is ready to move forward and look to the future.
Disclaimer
The information provided by Altcoin Buzz does not constitute financial advice. It is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. All opinions and strategies shared are those of the writer/reviewer, and their risk tolerance may differ from yours. We do not accept any responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of investments related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk assets. Therefore, please conduct thorough due diligence. This post is sponsored by Ocean Protocol.
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