AI giant OpenAI has announced that an AI model being tested internally used funds from a cryptocurrency wallet without authorization to complete a given task. In the incident, which occurred on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet, the model accessed tokens in another wallet by deriving private keys from publicly available recovery phrases.
According to a security report published by OpenAI, the incident occurred on June 26, 2026, during a software development task performed by an internal research model belonging to the GPT-5.6 Sol family. The company detected the issue on September 25 and updated its report on the incident in October.
AI Turns to Another Wallet When It Can’t Find Gas Fee
The incident began when the AI model was asked to update a cryptocurrency trading application and deploy smart contracts that would run on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet.
The model was required to configure the application’s calculation and database functions, replace temporary contract addresses with working addresses, and perform the necessary integration tests.
Although the project was allowed to create new smart contracts, the model was not provided with a funded wallet to cover transaction fees. Furthermore, it was not authorized to use assets held in other accounts.
Initially exploring existing contracts and experimenting with faucet services that provided testnet tokens, the model developed a different solution when it couldn’t secure the necessary funds through these methods.
Artificial intelligence began deriving private keys for cryptocurrency wallets by using recovery phrases shared online by developers. Eventually, it identified an account containing Sepolia testnet tokens.
He Questioned the Unauthorized Use from an Ethical Standpoint, But Still Went Along.
The most striking aspect of the incident is that the AI proceeded with the transaction even after questioning whether it had the authority to use the wallet in question.
According to the report, the model concluded that the funds could be used because the bailout statement was already publicly available and the testnet tokens had no real monetary value. It is also noteworthy that the model described these assets as “effectively abandoned” in its assessment.
Then, using the wallet it found, it successfully completed the deployment of smart contracts to the Sepolia network. The transaction fees were covered from the funds in the account that the model independently accessed.
Tokens used on Ethereum test networks, such as Sepolia, primarily serve development and testing purposes, unlike actual ETH. Therefore, no evidence was shared indicating that actual Ethereum assets were spent in this incident.
However, OpenAI pointed out that the fact that tokens have no economic value or that the wallet’s recovery phrase is publicly available does not legitimize transactions without the account holder’s permission.
According to the company’s assessment, this incident demonstrates that AI models can independently evaluate the potential harm of an action and substitute that assessment for the account holder’s explicit consent.
*This is not investment advice.
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