Imitation ‘ClawdBot’ AI Token Reaches $16M Before Plummeting 90% — Creator Alerts to Fraud

The creator of the open-source AI assistant ClawdBot, which has now been rebranded as Moltbot, has issued a public alert to the cryptocurrency community following the emergence of fraudulent tokens that misused his project’s name, luring in traders and resulting in significant losses.

Peter Steinberger stated that he has never created a token, has no intentions of doing so, and is not affiliated with any cryptocurrency that falsely claims to be connected to his work.

The counterfeit token, $CLAWD, momentarily attracted attention among retail traders on Solana-based meme coin platforms, achieving an initial market cap of about $16 million.

This momentum was short-lived; once Steinberger publicly refuted any involvement, the market capitalization plummeted from approximately $8 million to below $800,000.

NEW: After $CLAWD fell from $8M to under $800K post-rebranding to @moltbot, the founder denied any involvement, affirming he will never launch a token and that any project naming him as the owner is a scam. pic.twitter.com/arQ6aXLWj6

— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) January 27, 2026

Steinberger made this announcement following numerous inquiries from crypto traders and promoters after the abrupt emergence of meme coins associated with “ClawdBot.”

Founder States Token Activity Is Damaging Software Initiative

In a post on X, he requested that investors cease contacting him and clarified that he will not accept any fees or endorsements related to cryptocurrency launches.

To all crypto enthusiasts:
Please stop reaching out to me, stop pestering me.
I will never create a coin.
Any project that lists me as the owner of a coin is a SCAM.
No, I will not accept fees.
You are actively harming the project.

— Peter Steinberger (@steipete) January 27, 2026

This warning was prompted by the rise of impersonation accounts that were promoting a token named $CLAWD, which appeared on Solana-based meme coin platforms.

The token gained temporary popularity among retail traders, with some reporting early profits as excitement spread through social media.

Traders commented on X that this incident was yet another example of speculative AI-related tokens plummeting after official denials were issued.

Multiple users accused the anonymous token creators of repeated rug-pull behavior, asserting that similar projects had been launched and subsequently abandoned under various names.

The scenario was further complicated by a naming transition that was occurring at the time. Steinberger mentioned that the ClawdBot project had to rebrand to Moltbot due to trademark complications.

During the renaming phase, errors in account migrations led to third parties squatting on or taking control of associated GitHub and X handles.

Had to change our accounts for trademark reasons and messed up the GitHub rename, and the X rename got taken by crypto promoters.
That went splendidly. @moltbot it is.

— Peter Steinberger (@steipete) January 27, 2026

These accounts were then utilized to impersonate the project and advertise crypto tokens as if they were officially associated.

Steinberger indicated that he is collaborating with GitHub to reclaim the affected accounts and urged users to disregard any crypto-related assertions linked to the project.

Viral AI Tool ClawdBot Under Examination Following Security Alerts

ClawdBot, now known as Moltbot, attracted attention earlier this month after going viral among developers.

The tool functions as an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant designed to operate locally on a user’s device and integrate with messaging platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and Slack.

In contrast to web-based chatbots, it is built to maintain long-term memory, execute commands, and automate tasks directly on the user’s system.

Steinberger, who previously sold the software company PSPDFKit for around €100 million, returned to development to create this project as a privacy-centric alternative to cloud-hosted AI solutions.

Simultaneously, cybersecurity experts have voiced concerns about insecure deployments of ClawdBot by users who are not well-versed in server security.

Blockchain security firm SlowMist and independent researchers reported that numerous ClawdBot gateway instances were exposed to the public internet due to improperly configured proxies.

SlowMist TI Alert
ClawdBot gateway exposure identified: hundreds of API keys and private chat logs are at risk. Multiple unauthenticated instances are publicly accessible, and several code vulnerabilities may lead to credential theft and even remote code execution (RCE).
We strongly… https://t.co/j2ERoWPFnh

— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) January 27, 2026

These configurations potentially allowed unauthorized access to API keys, chat logs, and command execution functionalities.

Researchers emphasized that the issue originated from user configuration mistakes rather than a concealed exploit but cautioned that the risks were significant given the tool’s extensive system access.

These security warnings contributed to the confusion as scammers capitalized on the project’s newfound visibility to promote tokens to speculative traders.

The article Fake ‘ClawdBot’ AI Token Hits $16M Before 90% Crash — Founder Warns of Scam appeared first on Cryptonews.