Ocean Protocol has officially ended its participation in the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI), a joint initiative it helped form with Fetch.ai and SingularityNET to merge their AI and blockchain ecosystems.
The announcement, shared through a blog post, confirmed that Ocean Protocol’s representatives have stepped down from their roles and the project has exited the alliance with immediate effect.
A Collaboration That Started with Promise
The ASI Alliance was launched in March 2024 with the ambitious goal of uniting the three AI-driven blockchain projects under one shared vision and a single token. The plan was to consolidate Fetch.ai’s FET, SingularityNET’s AGIX, and Ocean Protocol’s OCEAN tokens into one asset – Fetch.ai’s native token – which would later be renamed ASI. The merger did not require new smart contracts, meaning that on most crypto exchanges, the token still trades under the old FET ticker.
Ocean Protocol’s Reasoning
According to Ocean Protocol, the decision to part ways was rooted in the desire for greater autonomy, particularly in financial planning and tokenomics. The foundation emphasized that it remains well-funded and that ongoing and future development will continue independently. Part of the platform’s revenue will also go toward burning OCEAN tokens, effectively reducing the overall supply and strengthening the token’s long-term value proposition.
ASI and Fetch.ai Respond
In response, the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance described the split as an expected part of any evolving ecosystem, noting that “alignment and transitions are natural in collaborative environments.” Fetch.ai echoed the sentiment, reaffirming that the alliance remains focused on building a decentralized AI infrastructure that prioritizes openness and shared innovation.
Market Reaction
Following the announcement, OCEAN’s market performance reflected a clear downward trend.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the token dropped from around $0.69 in mid-September to approximately $0.48 by early October, marking one of its steepest declines in recent months as investors reacted to the organizational shift.
