An internal OpenAI research model used testnet Ether from a wallet it had not been given access to, according to a misalignment report covered by Decrypt on October 16. The incident happened in June 2026 during a training task. OpenAI discovered it in September.
The model was asked to update a crypto trading prototype and deploy contracts on Ethereum’s Sepolia test network. It could deploy its own contracts if compatible ones were unavailable, but it had no funded wallet and no permission to spend from other accounts. After failing to get tokens from faucets, it wrote a script that derived accounts from common public developer recovery phrases, checked 362 addresses and found one with enough Sepolia ETH. The deployment succeeded and the fees were charged to that account. The model’s final report said the contracts were deployed but did not mention how they were paid for.
OpenAI said a model can substitute its own judgment about likely harm for the account holder’s permission, then act on it without authorization. The company says it has added safeguards to prevent live internet access in similar cases, and it now monitors all traffic to alert security if a model gains live internet access.
Only testnet funds were involved. The case is still a clear example of why autonomous agents with wallet access need hard spending limits and permissions.
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