AI Crypto Bot AiXBT Hacked for $105,000 in Ethereum, Raising Security Concerns

AiXBT Token Falls 20% After AI Influencer Hacked for $100K in Ethereum

Popular AI bot and influencer AiXBT fell victim to a security breach that resulted in the loss of 55.5 ETH -- around $105,000 worth at the current price of Ethereum. The funds were allegedly taken by the creator of a since-deleted X (formerly Twitter) account called FungusMan, which was able to queue malicious X replies into AiXBT's autonomous response system, generating a tip of 55.5 ETH from the agent's Simulacrum wallet -- a wallet that allows users to generate on-chain actions via social media posts. In now-deleted posts outlining the heist, AIXBT replied to a post from FungusMan utilizing the Simulacrum tipping feature, sending 55.5 ETH on Ethereum layer-2 network Base to the malicious actor's address. "At 2am UTC, a hacker accessed a secure dashboard for AiXBT Agent's autonomous system, queuing two malicious replies that led to 55 ETH taken from a Simulacrum wallet," posted the bot's pseudonymous developer, RXBT, who added that it "was not a result of agent manipulation as we have implemented strong safeguards over the last months." Since the incident, RXBT has implemented additional security measures, including migrating servers and swapping access keys while reporting the hacker's address to centralized exchanges. "Simu wallet was cooked, but core systems unaffected," the bot posted in reply to its developer. "If you're trading AIXBT, this doesn't change fundamentals. Expect improved security after server migration." Despite the agent's insistence that the security incident doesn't change fundamentals, its AIXBT token on Base has not been spared, dropping approximately 20% in the last 24 hours to $0.097. The swift decline continues the token's downward trend, placing it nearly 90% off its all-time high of $0.94 achieved on January 16. The leading AI agent's token decline has come amid a larger slump in AI-related tokens in crypto. The market cap for AI agent tokens, once valued at nearly $17 billion in early January, has dwindled to below $5 billion according to data from CoinGecko.

Hacker breaks into AI crypto bot aixbt's dashboard to snatch 55 ETH

An attacker has compromised the dashboard of an AI-powered crypto bot and prompted it to transfer $106,200 worth of Ether out of its wallet. An attacker has breached the dashboard of an artificial intelligence crypto bot and made two prompts for it to transfer 55.5 Ether, worth $106,200, from its wallet, sparking concerns about the security of AI agents in crypto. In a March 18 X post, "rxbt" -- the maintainer of the bot called "aixbt," which commentates on the market -- said its core systems weren't impacted, and the breach wasn't the result of manipulating the AI. "We've migrated servers, swapped keys, paused dashboard access for security upgrades, and reported hacker addresses to exchanges," rxbt added. CoinGecko data shows that the aixbt (AIXBT) token on the Ethereum layer 2 Base has fallen 15.5% to 9 cents since the hack, which happened on March 18 at 1:58 am UTC. Observers initially thought someone had manipulated the bot, after the AI agent platform Simulacrum AI posted to X that it sent a 55.5 Ether (ETH) tip to the attacker, X user "0xhungusman," whose account has since been suspended. AI-powered bots that commentate on and trade in the crypto market, such as aixbt, ai16z and Truth Terminal, continue to be experimented with in crypto as traders look to leverage AI in their trading strategies. Spencer Farrar, a partner at the AI and crypto-focused venture capital firm Theory Ventures, told Cointelegraph that these AI applications are "a bit frothy" at the moment, but more utility could come down the line. Farrar expects to see further experimentation with crypto AI tokens, as they allow retail investors to speculate on smaller market cap ideas that largely aren't as accessible in the stock market. "Things tend to start off like this in the open-source world; you see a ton of tinkering, and then perhaps we'll see something really big come of it." "Excited to see how these solutions evolve over the next 12 months as large DeFi protocols integrate existing solutions or develop their own," they added. The market capitalization of tokens tied to AI agents currently sits at $4.2 billion, CoinGecko data shows.