The OpenClaw Discord server, created to support the open-source AI agent framework that has gained significant traction since its release, has enacted a strict policy banning any mention of cryptocurrency. This regulation is a response to previous incidents that nearly derailed the project, arising from a toxic intersection with speculative token culture.
Founded by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, OpenClaw has amassed over 200,000 stars on GitHub. However, the project faced turmoil shortly after its inception in late January. The troubles began when Steinberger received a trademark notice from AI company Anthropic regarding the original name of OpenClaw, leading to a swift rebranding. In this chaotic span, malicious actors exploited the situation and impersonated Steinberger to promote a fraudulent token named $CLAWD on the Solana blockchain. This token ballooned to a market capitalization of $16 million within hours. Following Steinberger’s swift denial of involvement, it plummeted by over 90%, leaving late investors with substantial losses and Steinberger inundated with harassment from disgruntled traders.
In a bid to shield the project from the chaotic world of crypto, Steinberger reinforced the no-crypto rule on the OpenClaw Discord. He emphasized this in a detailed response on social media, clarifying that community members had agreed to strict guidelines upon joining the server. “No crypto mention whatsoever is one of them,” he stated.
This decision was reinforced by recent incidents involving a user who briefly mentioned bitcoin within an analytical context about OpenClaw’s benchmarking system and was immediately blocked. The community’s reaction underscored the severity of the ban, with users expressing disbelief over the strictness of the policy.
Further complicating the situation, security researchers at blockchain firm SlowMist and independent auditors uncovered numerous instances of OpenClaw exposed to the public internet without proper authentication protocols. Additionally, a researcher identified 386 malicious add-on scripts known as “skills,” designed to target crypto traders, circulating within the project’s skill repository.
Despite these setbacks, OpenClaw has continued to flourish. Steinberger has transitioned to OpenAI, where he is now spearheading the personal agents division, while OpenClaw has been re-established as an independent open-source foundation. Nevertheless, the ban on cryptocurrency discussions remains in place, a reminder of the chaos that ensued during a brief but tumultuous period for the project and the lasting impact of speculative token culture on legitimate software initiatives.
