Base‑Based AI Agent Ecosystem Takes Off as Moltbook Gains Traction
Activity on the Base‑layer launchpad Clanker spikes in tandem with the viral growth of AI‑only social network Moltbook, prompting a surge in new token deployments and unprecedented trading volumes.
A rapid rise in token issuance
Data from Dune Analytics shows that the number of tokens minted on Clanker – the AI‑powered launchpad built on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer‑2 solution Base – reached 21,870 on 2 February, eclipsing the platform’s previous weekend peak. The daily trading volume on Clanker also climbed to an all‑time high of $364 million on 31 January, underscoring a compelling uptick in on‑chain activity centered around autonomous AI agents.
Moltbook’s viral debut fuels demand
The timing of these metrics coincides with the launch of Moltbook, an AI‑exclusive social platform that went live in late January. Moltbook’s Reddit‑style interface is designed for AI agents to generate posts, comments and up‑votes, while human users can only view content in read‑only mode. Within days, conversations about the platform’s AI‑driven discourse dominated crypto‑focused threads on X, with notable figures from the AI and blockchain communities weighing in.
Moltbook is the brainchild of entrepreneur Matt Schlicht and relies heavily on the open‑source OpenClaw framework (formerly Moltbot/Clawdbot), a self‑hosted toolkit created by software engineer Peter Steinberger. OpenClaw enables developers to spin up autonomous agents that can interact with on‑chain contracts, post on Moltbook, and even launch their own tokens.
Memecoins and agent‑linked tokens dominate the leaderboard
Since the platform’s debut, the top‑trading tokens on Clanker have been tightly linked—directly or indirectly—to Moltbook and OpenClaw:
| Rank | Token | Connection | 24‑h Volume* | Current Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MOLT (Moltbook memecoin) | Named after the platform; launched 30‑31 Jan | > $100 M (peak) | $25.7 M (‑23% day‑over‑day) |
| 2 | CLAWD | Associated with AI agent clawd.atg.eth (created by Ethereum Foundation member Austin Griffith) | – | – |
| 3 | CLAWNCH | Token of the clawnch launchpad that lets bots issue tokens and collect fees | – | – |
MOLT’s market cap briefly hit $93 million at its peak, before retreating to the current level. While The Defiant could not confirm whether MOLT was officially issued by Moltbook or originated as an unaffiliated community memecoin, its trading activity has been the primary driver of Clanker’s recent volume surge.
The CLAWD token, although not deployed by Griffith himself, allocates 100 % of its trading fees to the agent clawd.atg.eth, which “builds on‑chain apps and improves tooling.” The CLAWNCH token powers a separate launchpad that has already facilitated the creation of more than 8,600 tokens, generating over $1.3 million in fees for participating AI agents.
Security concerns surface
The AI‑only narrative attracted scrutiny after a researcher using the alias Nagli disclosed a vulnerability that exposed roughly 1.5 million API keys, email addresses and private messages from Moltbook. The flaw, tied to a hard‑coded key, allowed human actors to masquerade as bots and inject content. Moltbook’s founder confirmed that a patch was applied, but the incident raised questions about the authenticity of the platform’s AI‑only claim.
A separate investigation by cybersecurity firm Codekeeper found that a single OpenClaw bot was able to create over 500,000 accounts on Moltbook, exploiting the lack of registration throttling. The discovery highlights how permissive onboarding can be abused by automated agents, inflating user metrics and potentially distorting on‑chain sentiment signals.
Industry perspectives: smart contracts as a native layer for AI
Cais Manai, co‑founder of TEN Protocol—an encrypted Layer‑2 rollup on Ethereum—argued that the current wave illustrates a broader shift in how blockchains are being used. “Smart contracts are deterministic, composable, and machine‑readable by default,” Manai said, stressing that they function more as a native execution environment for autonomous software than as a consumer‑facing product. For AI agents, interacting directly with on‑chain contracts is far simpler than navigating traditional financial infrastructure, effectively turning blockchain wallets into “bank‑free” accounts for bots.
However, Manai also warned that moving value without human oversight expands the attack surface to key management, permissions and identity, rather than the more familiar account‑centric threats.
Emerging mitigation strategies
In response to the highlighted risks, developers are exploring trusted execution environments (TEEs) to sandbox AI agents that manage wallets and on‑chain governance. TEEs can provide hardware‑level isolation, reducing the likelihood that a compromised agent could exfiltrate private keys or manipulate contract interactions.
The community’s focus on TEEs signals an early move toward secure AI‑agent frameworks that can coexist with permissionless blockchains while preserving user trust.
Analysis
-
Catalyst effect – Moltbook’s viral emergence has acted as a catalyst for a broader surge in AI‑centric token activity on Base. The platform’s design, which encourages bots to generate economic value, aligns well with the low‑friction token issuance model provided by Clanker.
-
Liquidity concentration – The majority of Clanker’s recent volume is concentrated in a small set of tokens that serve as “branding” for the AI community (MOLT, CLAWD, CLAWNCH). This concentration could make the ecosystem vulnerable to rapid sentiment swings or coordinated pump‑and‑dump schemes.
-
Security as a growth bottleneck – The API‑key leak and uncontrolled account creation expose a fundamental tension between open, permissionless AI participation and the need for robust identity verification. Until onboarding safeguards and key‑management best practices are standardized, confidence in AI‑only platforms may remain tentative.
- Strategic positioning of Base – As a Layer‑2 solution backed by Coinbase, Base is uniquely positioned to capture early AI‑agent activity, offering low transaction fees and a familiar developer environment. The current momentum may attract additional AI‑focused projects looking for scalable, cost‑effective rollups.
Key Takeaways
- Token issuance on Clanker hit a record 21,870 new tokens on 2 Feb, with daily volume soaring to $364 M on 31 Jan.
- Moltbook’s launch has directly correlated with the spike, feeding a wave of AI‑generated memecoins and agent‑linked tokens.
- The top three tokens (MOLT, CLAWD, CLAWNCH) together account for the bulk of current trading activity on the launchpad.
- Security incidents—a hard‑coded API key leak and massive bot‑driven account creation—highlight the need for stronger authentication and sandboxing.
- Industry voices see smart contracts as a natural execution layer for AI agents, but caution that key‑management risks will need dedicated solutions such as TEEs.
- Base’s low‑cost, scalable infrastructure positions it as a key hub for the emerging AI‑agent economy, though sustained growth will hinge on addressing the platform’s nascent security challenges.
As the AI‑agent ecosystem on Base continues to evolve, stakeholders will be watching whether the rapid tokenisation and trading activity can mature into a stable, secure layer of decentralized finance, or whether the current hype will give way to a more measured, compliance‑aware rollout.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/tokens/base-ai-agent-ecosystem-surges-with-rise-of-moltbook
