Open-source AI assistant ClawdBot founder Peter Steinberger has mentioned that he has by no means issued a token and that any crypto tasks claiming his involvement are scams, after his GitHub and X accounts have been taken over throughout a pressured rename.
The incident has triggered a recent wave of debate about meme cash constructed round viral tech tasks and the way consideration round open-source software program typically spills into speculative buying and selling with out developer consent.
Founder Disavows Tokens as Scammers Exploit ClawdBot Title
Steinberger, who just lately renamed the undertaking Moltbot attributable to trademark points, mentioned an error throughout the rename course of allowed crypto scammers to squat on his GitHub and X accounts.
In a number of posts on X, he requested crypto customers to cease “harassing” him and mentioned he’s working with GitHub to get well entry.
“I’ll by no means do a coin,” he wrote. “Any undertaking that lists me as coin proprietor is a SCAM.”
He additionally added that he is not going to settle for token-related charges and that such claims are damaging the undertaking.
The state of affairs unfolded as buying and selling curiosity grew round CLAWD, a Solana-based meme coin launched by way of pump.enjoyable, that some merchants loosely tied to ClawdBot. A number of crypto accounts promoted the token, whereas others pushed again.
On January 25, researcher Stitchdegen harassed that CLAWD is just not an official token and confirmed Steinberger had denied any involvement within the undertaking. Software program developer Ozmen wrote on January 27 that related scams hit many open-source tasks as soon as they achieve visibility, advising founders to obviously state non-involvement and ignore the noise.
Nonetheless, not all reactions have been sympathetic. Crypto dealer Kotonono Tsumugi criticized Steinberger’s supposedly anti-crypto stance in a January 27 submit, whereas meme coin fanatic Latuche joked that the harassment would by no means totally cease. In the meantime, tech commentator Robert Scoble mentioned he has additionally turned down token requests, including that there are different methods to fund tasks that don’t contain cash.
A Acquainted Sample in Meme Coin Hypothesis
The ClawdBot dispute follows a sample seen throughout crypto, the place viral concepts or public figures turn out to be uncooked materials for fast-moving tokens. Earlier this month, AI-themed meme coin RALPH fell about 80% after a pockets linked to its developer bought roughly $300,000 in tokens, sparking a public argument over belief and alignment. In that case, the developer mentioned he didn’t consent to the token’s creation, a declare that did little to calm merchants.
Warnings from trade figures have additionally grown louder. On January 13, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao criticized merchants for treating informal posts as funding alerts and warned them that purchasing meme cash impressed by his jokes would seemingly result in losses.
For Steinberger, the main target stays on software program, not hypothesis. In accordance with him, ClawdBot is a younger pastime undertaking with “sharp edges” that’s meant to encourage builders, not generate monetary stress.
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