OceanPal's AI Pivot: Blockchain Bet Sends Stock Down 94% as Skepticism Grows

OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: OP), a Greek-based shipping company, has unveiled a dramatic strategic pivot into blockchain and artificial intelligence, raising $120 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to launch SovereignAI Services LLC, a subsidiary focused on commercializing the NEAR Protocol, according to Investing.com. The move positions OceanPal as a public vehicle for exposure to NEAR, a blockchain platform designed for AI applications, with plans to accumulate up to 10% of the token supply, per Morningstar.

The transaction, announced October 28, 2025, includes participation from crypto-native investors such as Kraken, Proximity, and Fabric Ventures, the Investing.com report said, alongside financial advisors Clear Street LLC and Cohen & Company Capital Markets. SovereignAI aims to build "blockchain-native, confidential AI-cloud infrastructure using NVIDIA tech and powered by NEAR," according to OceanPal's press release. The subsidiary will be led by Sal Ternullo, a former State Street and KPMG executive, and David Schwed, previously of BNY and Robinhood, and Illia Polosukhin, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, will chair SovereignAI's advisory board, as reported by The Block.

While the initiative underscores growing institutional confidence in NEAR's long-term potential, FXStreet notes market implications, OceanPal's stock price plummeted 22.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, per Investing.com. The shares closed at $1.74, marking a 20.91% drop and a 94% year-to-date decline, according to BeInCrypto. The NEAR token also faced downward pressure, trading at $2.24—a 4.37% decline in 24 hours and a 20.7% monthly drop, the BeInCrypto coverage added. Market analysts attribute the selloff to investor skepticism about OceanPal's departure from its core shipping operations and the broader volatility in crypto markets, as discussed by Yahoo Finance.

OceanPal emphasized that it will maintain its traditional dry bulk and product tanker operations while developing SovereignAI as a separate venture, per Splash247. However, recent financial results highlight challenges: revenue fell 54.3% year-over-year to $3.08 million as of June 2025, with a net loss of $5.22 million and a profit margin of -169.53%, figures detailed by Yahoo Finance. Ternullo framed the pivot as a response to "explosive demand for privacy-first, regulatory-compliant AI across enterprise markets," including finance, healthcare, and media, the BeInCrypto piece reported.

The partnership with NEAR Foundation aligns with OceanPal's vision of "universal AI sovereignty," leveraging blockchain to enable decentralized, user-owned AI systems, according to TradingView. NEAR's architecture allows AI agents to function as autonomous economic actors, managing assets and making decisions while preserving data privacy, the Morningstar release explained. SovereignAI's strategy extends beyond token accumulation to infrastructure development, aiming to monetize its holdings by funding AI projects, The Block coverage added.

Despite the ambitious roadmap, the success of OceanPal's pivot remains uncertain. The company's stock performance and NEAR's token price suggest market caution, while the shipping industry's ongoing struggles add financial risk, Yahoo Finance observed. Ternullo and Schwed's combined expertise in finance, crypto, and AI may bolster credibility, but the venture's long-term viability will depend on the adoption of NEAR's AI infrastructure and broader market conditions, the Investing.com report concluded.