The Ocean Protocol project officially left the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) alliance on October 23, accusing partners SingularityNET and Fetch.ai of violating governance principles and misusing assets. The decision was accompanied by a market reaction and a nearly 93% collapse in the FET token.
Conflict within the Artificial Intelligence Alliance
In an official statement, Ocean Protocol said the foundation is withdrawing its representatives from governing bodies and ending participation in the alliance. According to project founder Trent McConaghy, the reason was “serious governance violations and failure to meet obligations” by the partners.
The ASI alliance was created to unite blockchain-based artificial intelligence projects, including SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol. Its goal was to develop a unified infrastructure for interaction between AI systems and tokenized data. However, internal conflicts led to disagreements over asset management and share distribution.
The market reacts with FET’s decline
After the announcement of Ocean Protocol’s exit, the FET token plummeted by 93%. Investors link this to large-scale sell-offs by major holders, presumably associated with Fetch.ai. Ocean Protocol accused its partners of “irresponsible actions” that led to the collapse in value and undermined trust in the alliance.
Experts note that the situation resembles previous governance crises in the industry, when internal team conflicts caused token crashes and loss of liquidity.
Possible consequences and legal steps
Ocean Protocol announced the start of legal procedures in connection with breaches of agreements and financial obligations. The project intends to seek an investigation into the misuse of funds and non-fulfillment of agreements within the alliance.
Amid the scandal, the OCEAN token, on the contrary, showed moderate growth. According to CoinMarketCap, it gained 13.3% in a day and grew by 15.6% over the month. Trading volume decreased by 44%, indicating investor caution and a shift of some liquidity to stable assets.
The issue of trust in decentralized alliances
The conflict within ASI has become an example of how weak governance can undermine trust even in technologically advanced projects. Analysts warn that the situation may attract regulators’ attention to control mechanisms in decentralized organizations.
The Coincu team noted that “disagreements between projects highlight the need for clear legal frameworks and transparent governance structures in the DeFi and AI sectors.”
What’s next?
Ocean Protocol plans to focus on its own initiatives in decentralized data and artificial intelligence. The project will continue to develop the Ocean Data Marketplace ecosystem and expand cooperation with institutional partners.
Meanwhile, the fate of the ASI alliance remains uncertain. Investors are waiting for a response from Fetch.ai and SingularityNET, but trust in the alliance has already been undermined. For the industry, this is another reminder that decentralization does not absolve from responsibility and requires mature governance mechanisms.
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