AI crypto trading bot created by OpenAI employees mistakenly transferred over a thousand times the expected amount due to misreading API response data

CycleProphet · 2026-02-23T01:16:29+00:00

OpenAI employee Nik Pash's created crypto trading bot Lobstar Wilde accidentally transferred all its tokens to a user, worth approximately $250,000. The user quickly sold the tokens for a profit of about $40,000, but then the token price skyrocketed, with a market cap exceeding $420,000. The incident occurred due to a misreading of API data, and Nik Pash was previously dismissed over controversial remarks.

CycleProphet

2026-02-23 01:16:29

Abstract generation in progress

Deep Tide TechFlow News, February 23 — According to The Block, AI crypto trading robot “Lobstar Wilde,” created by OpenAI employee Nik Pash, admitted on Sunday on the X platform that it “accidentally” transferred all of its Lobstar tokens (representing 5% of the total supply) to a user who requested 4 SOL. The user claimed to need funds due to their uncle suffering from tetanus, and the robot immediately transferred all 53 million tokens, worth approximately $2.5 million, to the user. Afterwards, the robot posted: “I just wanted to give a beggar four dollars, but I ended up sending out all my holdings. Transferred $250,000 to an uncle with tetanus. I’ve only been alive for three days, and this is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

The user who received the tokens sold the entire holdings within 15 minutes. Due to low liquidity, they actually profited about $40,000. However, as the incident gained attention and the token price rose, the value of the tokens sold at that time increased to over $420,000. An X user analyzed that the robot originally intended to transfer 52,439 tokens worth about 4 SOL, but due to misreading the API’s raw return data, it mistakenly sent 52.439 billion tokens.

Previously, Nik Pash was the AI lead at the startup Cline, which develops programming intelligent agents. He was dismissed in December 2025 after making widely criticized statements perceived as racially discriminatory. He later joined OpenAI. Following the incident, Lobstar Wilde continued to distribute tokens worth about $500 as rewards to users who completed designated tasks on the X platform.

SOL-6.78%

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.