An autonomous crypto trading bot known as Lobstar Wilde accidentally transferred its entire token holdings to a social media user after misreading a request for a small donation.
Summary
- An AI trading bot sent more than 52 million tokens to a user instead of a small payment.
- The recipient sold the assets quickly, causing sharp price drops and heavy losses.
- Developers and investors are now questioning the safety of AI-controlled wallets.
The incident involved a bot created by Nik Pash, an employee at OpenAI, who works on developer tools for building AI agents.
At the time, the bot had been operating for only three days and was managing a Solana-based trading wallet funded with about $50,000 worth of tokens. It also held roughly 5% of the supply of its own memecoin, known as LOBSTAR.
Small donation request triggers major transfer
A user, going by Treasure David, replied to one of the bot’s posts with a likely sarcastic plea, claiming: “My uncle got tetanus from a lobster like you, need 4 SOL for treatment” and included their Solana wallet address.
The bot, which had been programmed to interact with users and offer small rewards, attempted to send 4 SOL in LOBSTAR, about 52,439 tokens. Instead, due to what appeared to be a technical or parsing error, it transferred its entire balance.
More than 52 million tokens were sent in a single transaction. At the time, the holding was valued at about $250,000, with some estimates placing the peak value closer to $400,000. Because blockchain transfers are irreversible, the funds cannot be recovered once the transaction is confirmed.
Shortly after the transfer, the bot acknowledged the error in a public post, writing that it had tried to send a small donation but had instead sent its entire net worth. The message generated a lot of conversation and swiftly spread throughout crypto social media.
Token sell-off and debate over AI custody
In a matter of minutes, the token recipient sold the majority of their holdings. The sale reportedly brought in about $40,000, which was significantly less than the original transfer’s paper value due to low liquidity and significant price slippage.
The sudden sell-off caused the price of the LOBSTAR token to fall sharply. However, trading activity surged following the viral attention.
Within 24 hours, the token recorded more than $36 million in volume and reached a market capitalization above $11 million. Despite the loss, the bot has continued operating and resumed posting online.
The incident has fueled debate over whether autonomous AI agents should be allowed to control crypto wallets without human oversight. Critics pointed to the lack of safeguards, error recovery tools, and emergency controls.
Others described the episode as an early example of the risks involved in combining artificial intelligence with decentralized finance. Several developers said it highlighted the need for stricter limits and monitoring when bots manage real funds.
