AI Project Bans Crypto After $16M Token Scam

Edgen Crypto

·Feb 22 2026, 06:00

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Key Takeaways

The creator of the viral AI agent OpenClaw has banned all mentions of "bitcoin" or "crypto" from its official Discord server. This measure followed a targeted attack where the founder's accounts were hijacked by scammers who launched a fraudulent token, which briefly achieved a market capitalization of $16 million, leading to weeks of harassment.

Scammers exploited the project's popularity to launch a fake OpenClaw token, inflating its market capitalization to $16 million.
In response, the AI project's founder has banned all crypto-related discussion on the community's Discord server to prevent further fraud.
The incident highlights the persistent risks of scams and reputational damage for legitimate tech projects that attract attention from the crypto ecosystem.

Scammers Exploit AI Hype to Create $16M Fake Token

A sophisticated scam targeting the viral AI agent project OpenClaw culminated in the launch of a fraudulent token that reached a peak market capitalization of $16 million. On February 22, 2026, it was reported that scammers hijacked the personal accounts of the project's creator to promote the unauthorized digital asset. This exploitation of the project's brand recognition led to significant, albeit temporary, speculative interest before the token's fraudulent nature became widely known. The creator also endured weeks of personal harassment from individuals involved in the scheme, prompting a decisive response to the security breach and reputational attack.

Project Bans Crypto Discussion After Fallout

To protect its community and dissociate from the fraud, the OpenClaw team implemented a strict policy on its official Discord server, banning all mentions of the words "bitcoin" and "crypto." This action effectively severs the project from any association with the cryptocurrency space. The event underscores a growing challenge for legitimate technology ventures, as their popularity can be co-opted by malicious actors in the decentralized finance world. This incident may fuel greater skepticism from mainstream tech projects towards engaging with Web3 and could pressure platforms like Discord to adopt more stringent policies to combat such fraudulent activities.