OpenClaw has implemented a policy banning the mention of ‘bitcoin’ and other cryptocurrency terms on its Discord server. This decision comes as OpenClaw has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 200,000 stars on GitHub since its release in late January. These developments reflect OpenClaw’s growing presence and impact within the software community.
Anthropic sent Peter Steinberger a trademark notice concerning the project’s original name, Clawdbot, stating that the Clawdbot name was the subject of a trademark claim. The communication from Anthropic was addressed to Steinberger in connection with the project’s use of the Clawdbot name. Following receipt of the trademark notice, the project underwent a change of name. The project’s public name was changed from Clawdbot to OpenClaw.
Crypto scammers hijacked Peter Steinberger’s accounts and promoted a fake token called $CLAWD on the Solana blockchain. The promoted $CLAWD token reached a market capitalization of $16 million within hours of the promotion. The campaign used the hijacked accounts to publicize the token in the hours leading up to its rapid valuation peak.
When Peter Steinberger publicly denied any involvement, the token’s price collapsed by more than 90%. The crash occurred after his public denial and erased profits for buyers who purchased late during the token’s rapid rise. The incident combined account hijacking, an abrupt valuation spike, and an ensuing steep decline that removed gains from late purchasers. Those losses were realized by market participants who bought after the token’s rapid appreciation.
Security researchers at SlowMist, along with independent auditors, discovered significant vulnerabilities within OpenClaw implementations. It was found that hundreds of OpenClaw instances were publicly exposed due to the collapse of the localhost trust model when placed behind a reverse proxy. This exposure presented a risk to systems that relied on OpenClaw, potentially allowing unauthorized access.
In addition to these findings, 386 malicious “skills” add-ons were identified in the OpenClaw skill repository. These add-ons were specifically designed to target crypto traders, posing threats to their operations and data integrity. These issues highlight vulnerabilities within OpenClaw that require careful attention and action to prevent exploitation.
OpenClaw’s Discord server bans mentions of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency terms. The project was rebranded after a trademark notice over its original name, and scammers hijacked Peter Steinberger’s accounts to promote a fake token that subsequently collapsed. Researchers and independent auditors reported security issues with OpenClaw implementations and identified numerous malicious skills add-ons in the project’s skill repository.
