{"id":420346,"date":"2026-02-22T16:59:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T11:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/openclaw-bans-bitcoin-and-crypto-mentions-on-discord-after-fake-token-scare-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T18:23:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:53:41","slug":"openclaw-bans-bitcoin-and-crypto-mentions-on-discord-after-fake-token-scare-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/openclaw-bans-bitcoin-and-crypto-mentions-on-discord-after-fake-token-scare-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenClaw Bans Bitcoin and Crypto Mentions on Discord After Fake Token Scare &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"html-renderer-container\">\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">The developer behind the fast-growing open-source AI agent framework OpenClaw has confirmed that any mention of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on its Discord server can lead to removal.<\/p>\n<p>In a Saturday <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/blockapunk\/status\/2025176010044342565\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/x.com\/blockapunk\/status\/2025176010044342565\">post<\/a> on X, a user revealed that they were blocked from OpenClaw\u2019s Discord simply for referencing Bitcoin block height as a timing mechanism in a multi-agent benchmark. <\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">In response, OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/steipete\/status\/2025185835788681425?s=20\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">confirmed<\/a> the action, writing that members had accepted \u201cstrict server rules\u201d upon joining and that the community maintains a \u201cno crypto mention whatsoever\u201d policy.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>OpenClaw confirms ban on crypto. Source: Steinberger<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">Steinberger later agreed to re-add the user, asking them to email their username so he could restore their access to the server.<\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\"><em><strong>Related: <\/strong><\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/ethereum-trustless-agents-ai-payments\"><em><strong>Ethereum\u2019s Trustless Agents standard is the missing link for AI payments<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>OpenClaw\u2019s crypto problem began with a fake token<\/h2>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">Trouble began during a rebrand after Steinberger received a trademark notice related to the project\u2019s original name. In the short window between releasing old social accounts and claiming new ones, scammers <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberunit.com\/insights\/clawdbot-moltbot-security-update\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">seized<\/a> the abandoned handles and promoted a Solana-based token called $CLAWD.<\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">The token surged to roughly $16 million in market capitalization within hours before collapsing more than 90% after Steinberger publicly denied involvement. Early buyers accused the developer.<\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">Steinberger <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/steipete\/status\/2016072109601001611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2016072109601001611%7Ctwgr%5E6c1679ec9c1091b85b595df7af08bb8a9bb2ec8a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coindesk.com%2Ftech%2F2026%2F02%2F22%2Fmentioning-bitcoin-or-crypto-on-ai-agent-openclaw-s-discord-will-get-you-banned\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">responded<\/a> at the time by warning users he would never launch a cryptocurrency and that any token claiming association with him was fraudulent. Security researchers later <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slowmist.medium.com\/threat-intelligence-analysis-of-clawhub-malicious-skills-poisoning-0448ffd49c80\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">identified<\/a> hundreds of exposed OpenClaw instances online and dozens of malicious plug-ins, many designed to target crypto traders. <\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">OpenClaw has expanded rapidly since launching in late January, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/openclaw\/openclaw\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">surpassing 200,000 GitHub stars<\/a> within weeks and attracting a wide developer audience interested in autonomous agents. <\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\"><em><strong>Related: <\/strong><\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/deel-partners-with-moonpay-to-roll-out-stablecoin-salary-payouts-in-europe\"><em><strong>Deel taps MoonPay to roll out stablecoin salary payouts in UK, EU<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Crypto firms bullish on AI agents<\/h2>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">Industry leaders increasingly see crypto as the default payment rail for AI. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/billions-of-ai-agents-to-use-stablecoins-circle-ceo\">predicted that billions of agents<\/a> will use stablecoins for routine payments within a few years<\/p>\n<p><template data-ct-widget=\"buzzsprout\" data-buzzsprout-podcast-id=\"2040516\" data-buzzsprout-episode-id=\"18518100\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\">Earlier this month, Coinbase <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/coinbase-launches-crypto-wallets-built-ai-agents\">launched \u201cAgentic Wallets\u201d infrastructure<\/a> that lets AI agents hold wallets and autonomously spend, earn and trade crypto onchain. Built on its AgentKit developer framework and powered by the x402 payments protocol, the system enables software agents to actively manage DeFi positions, rebalance portfolios, pay for compute and data services, and participate in digital marketplaces.<\/p>\n<p data-ct-non-breakable=\"undefined\"><em><strong>Magazine:<\/strong><\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/critical-reason-never-ask-chatgpt-legal-advice\/\"><em><strong>\u00a0The critical reason you should never ask ChatGPT for legal advice<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"crypto_biz\" label=\"Subscription Form: Crypto Biz Newsletter\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"latest-disclaimer\">Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph\u2019s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently. Read our Editorial Policy <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/editorial-policy\">https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/editorial-policy<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The developer behind the fast-growing open-source AI agent framework OpenClaw has confirmed that any mention of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on its Discord server can lead to removal. In a Saturday post on X, a user revealed that they were blocked from OpenClaw\u2019s Discord simply for referencing Bitcoin block height as a timing mechanism in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[235,203,210,234,231,232,237,238,236,233],"class_list":["post-420346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-bitcoin","tag-crypto-currency","tag-elon-musk","tag-ethereum","tag-hyperledger","tag-ibm","tag-mining","tag-nodes","tag-spacex","tag-tesla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420346"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":420359,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420346\/revisions\/420359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}