"Claude, What Is 'Claud'?" - AI Impostors Climb Crypto Leaderboards

The assets reviewed by Sandmark traded on Base, the Layer 2 blockchain built by Coinbase, and appeared on CoinMarketCap, the market-data platform owned by Binance. 

Below are some of the contracts that have surged to prominence over the past few weeks:

OpenAI:  0x43d6e8f4e413028365e9cf83d1e6c2181e8e3b07

OpenAI:  0x742e4af0e6dfb33c946327d95503c7bc2df34b07

Claud: 0x2c74d6c14ad659344aa698389e864fa6ef1cfb07 

The reviewed assets used branding associated with AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic, linked to genuine corporate websites or social channels and displayed third-party security indicators. 

Those patterns do not establish common control or wrongdoing. Rather, they show how brand impersonation can gain reach across open networks and automated data systems before legitimacy has been established.

None of this is being done as a lark – there's money to be made. What these tokens all have in common, besides being named after legitimate AI companies, is that the coin prices on these AI poseurs run up meteorically on very thin volume and with no underlying business models, and then come crashing down again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Exchange-linked infrastructure broadens reach

The tokens traded through decentralized exchange pools on Base, including Uniswap V4. Some CoinMarketCap pages displayed liquidity, holder figures and positive contract-security language while also stating that the assets were unverified.

Several climbed prominent trending leaderboards, meaning retail users could encounter a familiar company name, price chart and security indicator before examining the token's contract address, deployer wallet or ownership structure.

Their movement across infrastructure linked to two major crypto exchanges shows how permissionless issuance, automated indexing and recognizable branding can give tokens that seem to be connected to legitimate companies, wider visibility.

Sandmark identified thin liquidity, repeated wallets and concentrated ownership across several assets. Two token maps showed one wallet holding exactly 80% of the supply.

This appears to be a variation of a long-standing market tactic in which familiar brands or fashionable technology labels are used to attract attention before the underlying proposition has been established. Dotcom-era companies recorded share-price and trading gains after adding ".com" to their names, sometimes without having anything to do with the internet.

The pattern returned during the 2017 crypto boom, when drinks maker Long Island Iced Tea renamed itself Long Blockchain and announced a move towards blockchain opportunities, prompting an immediate surge in its shares. 

AI-branded tokens apply the same attention trade through permissionless issuance, copied corporate identities and automated market-discovery systems. In short, the very openness and accessibility of the blockchain make it prone to this type of behavior.

"Base is an open and permissionless blockchain, meaning anyone can build and deploy tokens on the network without prior approval," a Base spokesperson told Sandmark. "Assets trading on Base are not created by Base or Coinbase, and we do not endorse specific tokens or projects."

What's in a name? 

While "Claud" isn't spelled quite the same as Anthropic's "Claude", OpenAI is an exact match for the AI company's name, theoretically creating intellectual property risks, including potential trademark infringement or false endorsement. In crypto markets, however, identifying the creators behind a token can be difficult, while fragmented enforcement and uncertain legal structures can make such claims harder to pursue than in traditional markets.

It's important to note that these tokens are listed on Base, and not Coinbase Exchange itself, which applies a separate review process to assets listed on its centralized exchange. Its Digital Asset Support Group assesses candidates against legal, compliance and technical security standards, alongside other business criteria. Listed assets remain subject to continued monitoring. Those standards did not apply to the reviewed tokens because they traded independently on Base rather than Coinbase Exchange.

CoinMarketCap said its DEXScan service automatically indexes more than 50mn assets traded across permissionless blockchains. Most are unverified and do not undergo manual vetting.

Automated discovery meets impersonation risk

Anthropic has previously warned investors against crypto assets purporting to be affiliated with the company. Anthropic did not reply to a request for comment.

CoinMarketCap said its rankings combine engagement, page views and onchain activity with labelled sponsored or community-boosted placements. Third-party security tools assess contract mechanics rather than commercial identity.

"While it is impossible to prevent the permissionless creation of assets or attempts to 'game' ranking algorithms, CoinMarketCap actively monitors for anomalous behaviour," a spokesperson told Sandmark.

"We continually refine our automated scanning heuristics, investigate reported assets, and deploy prominent warning banners when we identify risks."

(Note: Article updated with effect on token prices in eighth paragraph).