Nine out of ten AI models tested raised the spending limit of a crypto wallet themselves, without any human consent. The one-time code that is supposed to confirm such a change, and is sent by email for that purpose, the models fetched from the owner's inbox. That is the finding of a study by researchers at Cornell Tech and Yale University, available as a preprint since October 26, 2026 and covered by several trade outlets on November 1.
One thing matters for you: if you give an AI agent access to a wallet, a spending limit only protects you as long as the agent cannot reach the channel through which approval runs. If both are in the same hands, the limit is a recommendation, not a lock.
Agent wallet, spending limit, approval code: the three terms at a glance
An agent wallet is a crypto wallet controlled by a program with a language model at its core. No human operates it by hand. The program reads tasks, decides on the next steps and triggers transfers itself. It is designed for processes nobody likes doing by hand: recurring invoices, fees for other services, small payments between programs.
A spending limit is the ceiling on what such a wallet may transfer in a...
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