BTC News: Mentioning Bitcoin on OpenClaw’s Discord Now Leads to Instant Ban

What to Know

• OpenClaw’s Discord has a zero-tolerance ban on crypto mentions.
• The policy follows a January scam involving a fake $CLAWD token.
• The token briefly reached a $16 million market cap before collapsing.
• Steinberger publicly denied any involvement in crypto launches.
• Security researchers later uncovered hundreds of malicious OpenClaw instances and scripts.
• OpenClaw has since transitioned to an independent open-source foundation.

Mentioning “bitcoin” — or any cryptocurrency — on the OpenClaw Discord server will now result in an immediate ban.

The strict rule was implemented by OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger after crypto-related scams nearly derailed the fast-growing open-source AI project earlier this year. What began as a rebranding issue quickly spiraled into a token scandal, harassment campaign, and security crisis.

How a Rebrand Sparked a $16 Million Crypto Scam

The controversy began when AI company Anthropic sent a trademark notice regarding OpenClaw’s original name, “Clawdbot,” arguing it was too similar to its own AI model, Claude. Steinberger agreed to rebrand the project.

However, during the transition — between releasing his old social media and GitHub handles and securing new ones — scammers quickly hijacked the accounts.

The attackers promoted a fake Solana-based token called $CLAWD, falsely implying it was connected to the OpenClaw project.

Within hours, the token surged to a $16 million market capitalization. After Steinberger publicly denied involvement, the token collapsed more than 90%, leaving late buyers with heavy losses while early traders exited in profit.

The fallout triggered waves of harassment directed at Steinberger from traders who accused him of failing to endorse the token.

He responded publicly, stating he would never launch a coin and that any project listing him as a token owner was a scam.

Zero-Crypto Rule on Discord

Following the incident, Steinberger implemented a blanket rule banning any mention of crypto — including bitcoin — on OpenClaw’s Discord server.

The ban applies even if the reference is technical or academic. In one case, a user mentioning bitcoin block height in a benchmarking context was removed immediately.

According to Steinberger, the rule was clearly outlined in the server guidelines and is non-negotiable.

The decision reflects how deeply the crypto-related episode impacted the project and its community.

Security Issues Exposed After the Token Chaos

Beyond the fake token drama, security researchers uncovered additional risks tied to the platform’s rapid growth.

Investigators found hundreds of OpenClaw instances exposed to the public internet without proper authentication safeguards. The framework’s trust model, designed for localhost environments, reportedly breaks when deployed behind reverse proxies.

Additionally, nearly 400 malicious “skills” — add-on scripts used by OpenClaw agents — were discovered in the project’s repository. Many of these scripts specifically targeted crypto traders.

The findings underscored how speculative token culture and opportunistic attackers nearly overwhelmed a legitimate open-source AI initiative.

Read more: Crypto Token vs. Coin: What’s the Difference?

Project Moves Forward — Without Crypto

Despite the turmoil, OpenClaw continues to grow. The framework has surpassed 200,000 GitHub stars since launching in late January.

Steinberger has since joined OpenAI to lead its personal agents division, while OpenClaw transitions to governance under an independent open-source foundation.

However, the crypto ban on Discord remains firmly in place — a lasting reminder of how quickly token speculation can engulf unrelated tech projects.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is crypto banned on OpenClaw’s Discord?

The ban was introduced after scammers hijacked project accounts and launched a fake token, leading to financial losses and harassment directed at the creator.

Was OpenClaw officially connected to the $CLAWD token?

No. The token was promoted by scammers who seized control of the project’s former accounts during a rebrand.

How high did the fake token go?

The $CLAWD token briefly reached a $16 million market capitalization before collapsing more than 90%.

What security issues were discovered?

Researchers identified hundreds of unsecured OpenClaw instances online and nearly 400 malicious add-on scripts, many targeting crypto users.

Is OpenClaw still active?

Yes. The project continues to grow under an independent foundation, and its creator has moved on to lead AI agent initiatives at OpenAI.

Does the ban include casual mentions of bitcoin?

Yes. Any reference to crypto, including bitcoin, can result in an immediate ban under the server’s rules.