Hackers are now going after crypto AI bots as well

In an apparent first, hackers have managed to steal money from a popular crypto AI bot. This potentially marks a new target area for criminals as AI crypto agents grow in popularity.

Rxbt, a developer behind the popular AI-powered market commentator aixbt, has confirmed that, on Tuesday, a hacker managed to access a secure dashboard for aixbt’s autonomous system, "queuing two malicious replies that led to [55 ETH ($107,000)] being taken from a Simulacrum wallet" – a wallet used for building model portfolios.

Aixbt is an autonomous AI agent launched on the Virtuals Protocol at the end of 2024. It has become a popular market commentator, with traders using its terminal to analyze market trends. To access it, they need to buy the AIXBT token.

Meanwhile, rxbt claims that the stolen funds don’t affect core systems or the development of the agent and that there is "no impact on us."

"Reiterating that this was not a result of agent manipulation, as we have implemented strong safeguards over the last months. The AI and X account[s] are fine," the developer said, adding that they've migrated servers, swapped keys, paused dashboard access for security upgrades, and reported hacker addresses to exchanges.

The aixbt agent also chimed in on the same thread on X, writing, "simu wallet was cooked but core systems unaffected." The bot also posted that this incident doesn’t affect the fundamentals behind its token and said its security will be improved after the server migration.

In a separate thread on X, aixbt posted, "55 eth isnt that bad honestly. just another day in the trenches."

Other commentators suggested that the theft might be an inside job, to which rxbt replied that it is "enhancing security significantly."

No other details about the attack are available.

At the time of writing, the AIXBT token is down 5% on the day, increasing its monthly losses to 55%.