OpenClaw, the developer behind the fast-growing open-source AI agent framework, has confirmed that any mention of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on its Discord server could lead to removal.
In a post on X on Saturday, a user revealed that he was banned from OpenClaw’s Discord simply for citing Bitcoin block height as a time mechanism in a multi-agent benchmark.
In response, OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger confirmed the action, writing that members have accepted “strict server rules” upon joining and that the community maintains a “no crypto mentions” policy.
Steinberger later agreed to re-add the user, and asked him to email his username so he could restore his access to the server.
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OpenClaw’s crypto problem started with a fake token.
Trouble began during the rebrand after Steinberger received a trademark notice regarding the project’s original name. In the short window between releasing old social accounts and claiming new ones, fraudsters took over abandoned handles and promoted a Solana-based token called $CLAWD.
The token plunged more than 90 percent to nearly $16 million in market capitalization within hours after Steinberger declined to publicly participate. Early buyers blamed the developer.
Steinberger responded at the time by warning users that he would never launch a cryptocurrency and that claiming any tokens with it was fraudulent. Security researchers later identified hundreds of exposed OpenClaw instances online and dozens of malicious plugins, many of which were designed to target crypto traders.
OpenClaw has spread rapidly since its launch in late January, surpassing 200,000 GitHub stars within weeks and attracting a wide developer audience interested in autonomous agents.
Related: Dell taps MoonPay for stablecoin payments in UK, EU
Crypto firms are increasingly working on AI agents.
Industry leaders increasingly see crypto as the default payment rail for AI. Circle CEO Jeremy Allier predicts that billions of agents will be using stablecoins for routine payments within a few years.
Earlier this month, Coinbase launched the “Agentic Wallets” infrastructure that lets AI agents hold wallets and autonomously spend, earn and trade on the crypto-onchain. Built on its AgentKit developer framework and powered by the x402 payments protocol, the system enables software agents to proactively manage DeFi positions, balance portfolios, pay for compute and data services, and participate in digital marketplaces.
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