Peter Steinberger, the creator of the open-source AI assistant ClawdBot, has publicly rejected any association with crypto. This is after scammers hijacked his online identity to promote fake token projects.
The controversy erupted following ClawdBot’s rebrand to Moltbot, a move Steinberger says was forced by trademark concerns raised by Anthropic and later exploited by crypto promoters.
AI Founder Draws a Hard Line as Crypto Scammers Hijack His Identity
In a series of posts on X (Twitter), Steinberger made his position unequivocal, articulating that he would never do a coin.
Sponsored“Any project that lists me as a coin owner is a SCAM. No, I will not accept fees. You are actively damaging the project,” he wrote.
Steinberger added that he has never issued tokens, does not endorse any crypto initiative, and will not accept deployment or endorsement fees under any circumstances.
The situation traces back to ClawdBot’s rise in visibility within AI developer circles. The self-hostable AI agent gained attention for its always-on capabilities, prompting discussions around both its utility and its risks.
As the project grew, Anthropic raised trademark concerns about the “ClawdBot” name. This forced Steinberger to rebrand it as Moltbot, a nod to the lobster-themed assistant “molting” into a new identity.
However, the transition did not go smoothly. Steinberger acknowledged that operational errors during the rename allowed bad actors to seize his former handles.
According to Steinberger, crypto scammers quickly squatted his old X and GitHub accounts and began using them to launch or promote meme coin-style token schemes falsely claiming his involvement.
He later confirmed that his original GitHub account had been taken over and publicly appealed for help.
Sponsored SponsoredHarassment Persists as Meme Coin Culture Collides with Open-Source AI
Despite repeatedly distancing himself from crypto, Steinberger said the harassment has continued. He described persistent messages from crypto practitioners urging him to “claim” token deployment fees.
Reportedly, some also urge him to acknowledge token launches conducted in his name, actions he says are actively harming the open-source project and confusing users.
“Those people make my online life a living hell. I can barely use my account. It’s nonstop pings. They invade our Discord server, ignore the server rules, spam me on Telegram, and squat my account names. They’re making my online life a living hell. It makes zero sense to have a coin for this. I am not throwing my reputation away for a quick buck,” said Steinberger in an exclusive statement to BeInCrypto.
Community reaction to Steinberger’s warnings has been mixed. Replies to his posts ranged from jokes about accepting “free money” to strong defenses of his refusal to engage with token culture.
The episode has highlighted how deeply meme coin speculation has permeated online tech communities, even when creators explicitly opt out.
While Steinberger has previously mocked the space through parody ideas like “vibecoin,” he has stressed that ClawdBot (now Moltbot) is not, and will never be, a crypto project.
SponsoredBeInCrypto asked Steinberger whether his Vibecoin reference may have unintentionally made ClawdBot more vulnerable to being misinterpreted as crypto-adjacent.
“I don’t think many of them got the pun. It’s like they look at it for 5 seconds. What demographic is this? Children?” Steinberger replied.
Notably, some users have already reported the need to change their domains in response to this incident, to avoid being targeted by bad actors.
Steinberger supported this move, amid mounting complaints targeting users.
Shruti Gandhi from Array VC says they were attacked 7,922 times over the weekend after using Clawdbot.
Security Risks Mount as Viral AI Tools Attract Unwanted Attention
The project’s sudden prominence also drew attention to its security implications. Browser developer Brave issued public guidance warning that always-on AI agents like ClawdBot can pose serious risks if misconfigured.
As a result, the browser recommends that users run the bot on isolated machines, limit account access, and avoid exposing it directly to the internet.
“…there is no ‘perfectly secure’ setup for such tools,” Brave emphasized.
For Steinberger, the incident reflects the risks faced by open-source AI developers as projects go viral. What began as a technical rebrand is now a case of identity hijacking, speculative excess, and the growing overlap and friction between AI innovation and crypto hype.
