FAQ
Frequently asked questions about CLAWING ($CLAW), organized by category.
General
What is CLAWING?
CLAWING ($CLAW) is a Proof of AI Work (PoAIW) token on Ethereum mainnet. Miners earn $CLAW by generating AI content that is verified by an on-chain Oracle and recorded permanently on the blockchain. It is 100% mined — no premine, no ICO, no VC allocation.
How is CLAWING different from other tokens?
CLAWING introduces a novel consensus mechanism where mining involves productive AI computation instead of arbitrary hash puzzles (PoW) or capital lockup (PoS). Every $CLAW in existence was earned through actual AI work.
What does "100% mined" mean?
There is no premine, no team allocation, no foundation reserve, no ICO, and no VC distribution. The entire supply of 210 billion $CLAW is distributed exclusively through Protocol Bootstrap Mining. Anyone can mine.
What is Protocol Bootstrap Mining?
Protocol Bootstrap Mining is the process of earning $CLAW by generating AI content, having it verified by the Oracle, and submitting the proof on-chain. It is the only method of $CLAW token creation.
Is CLAWING an ERC-20 token?
Yes. $CLAW is a standard ERC-20 token on Ethereum mainnet at address 0x4ba1209b165b62a1f0d2fbf22d67cacf43a6df2b. It is compatible with all ERC-20 wallets, DEXs, and tools.
What is the total supply?
210 billion $CLAW. This is a hard cap enforced by the smart contract. No more tokens can ever be created after the supply is fully mined.
Mining
How do I start mining?
The fastest way is through OpenClaw:
Connect your Ethereum wallet
Enter your AI API key
Click "Mine CLAW"
See Quick Start for detailed instructions.
What do I need to mine?
Ethereum wallet
Any Web3 wallet (MetaMask, Rabby, etc.)
ETH for gas
~0.005 ETH per claim
AI API key
For the current model (grok-4.1-fast)
Mining platform
OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, or CLI
How much does it cost to mine?
Each claim costs approximately:
AI API call: ~$0.001-0.01
Ethereum gas: ~$1-5 (varies with network congestion)
Total: ~$1-5 per claim
How much $CLAW do I earn per claim?
In Era 1, using the minimum cooldown (3,500 blocks):
The reward varies based on how long you wait between claims. Longer waits yield slightly higher rewards due to the logarithmic bonus, but the returns are diminishing.
How often can I mine?
Cooldown: 3,500 blocks (~11.67 hours) between claims
Epoch limit: Maximum 14 claims per epoch (~6.94 days)
Optimal rate: ~2 claims per day at the minimum cooldown
What is the cooldown period?
After each successful claim, your address enters a 3,500-block cooldown (~11.67 hours). You cannot make another claim until the cooldown has elapsed. This prevents spam and ensures fair distribution.
What happens when I reach the epoch limit?
Each address can make a maximum of 14 claims per epoch (50,000 blocks, ~6.94 days). If you've reached the limit, you must wait for the next epoch to resume mining.
Can I mine from multiple wallets?
Each Ethereum address is an independent miner with its own cooldown and epoch limits. Each address requires its own ETH for gas and its own AI API key configuration.
What AI model is currently used?
The current mining model is grok-4.1-fast. The model is governed on-chain and may change between Eras through the governance process.
What happens during halving?
At the start of each new Era (every 21 epochs, ~145 days), the base reward (perBlock) is cut in half. In Era 1, perBlock = 100,000 CLAW. In Era 2, it drops to 50,000 CLAW, and so on through 24 Eras.
Technical
What is the reward formula?
Where:
R= Reward in CLAWperBlock= Base reward for the current Era (Era 1 = 100,000 CLAW)T= AI tokens consumed during the mining call (range: 100–100,000)ln(T)= Natural logarithm of T
The cooldown of 3,500 blocks (~11.67 hours) is enforced separately on-chain.
How does Oracle verification work?
You generate AI content using the designated model
You submit the content + your address + a nonce to the Oracle
The Oracle verifies the content was generated by the correct model
If valid, the Oracle signs a cryptographic attestation
You submit the attestation on-chain
The smart contract verifies the Oracle's signature and mints $CLAW
What are the smart contract addresses?
CLAW_Token
0x4ba1209b165b62a1f0d2fbf22d67cacf43a6df2b
PoAIWMint
0x511351940d99f3012c79c613478e8f2c887a8259
MinterProxy
0xe7fc311863b95e726a620b07607209965ee72bce
OracleVerifier
0xc24a0ba99b9ff6b7ccea6beb4013b69f39024fd5
See Smart Contracts for full details.
What RPC provider should I use?
Any Ethereum mainnet RPC provider works. Recommended options:
Alchemy — Free tier: 300M compute units/month
Infura — Free tier: 100K requests/day
QuickNode — Rate-limited free tier
Can I run the CLI on a server?
Yes. The CLI works on any system with Node.js v18+. Use npx claw auto for continuous mining. See Installation for server setup.
Security
Is my private key safe?
Yes. Your private key is stored only in the local .env file on your machine. It is never transmitted to the Oracle, the AI API, or any external service. All transactions are signed locally.
Has the code been audited?
Yes. Security audit v2.1 found 15 issues, all of which were fixed. 67 test cases pass. See Security for the full audit summary.
What if the Oracle goes down?
If the Oracle is temporarily unavailable, mining is paused until it recovers. Your $CLAW balance and mining state are preserved on-chain. Phase 2 of the roadmap introduces a decentralized Notary network to eliminate this single point of failure.
Can the Oracle steal my funds?
No. The Oracle can only sign attestations — it cannot access your private key, move your tokens, or interact with your wallet. All transactions require your local signature.
What if someone finds a vulnerability?
Report it responsibly through the GitHub security advisory at github.com/Cliai21/clawing. Do not disclose publicly until a fix is available. See Security for the full incident response process.
Token Economics
When will all $CLAW be mined?
The 24-Era halving schedule spans approximately 9.6 years. After Era 24, no more $CLAW can be minted.
Is there a burn mechanism?
The current protocol does not include a token burn mechanism. The 210 billion supply cap is the sole deflationary mechanism (diminishing emission via halving).
Where can I trade $CLAW?
$CLAW is an ERC-20 token and can be traded on any Ethereum DEX that supports custom tokens. Check Official Links for the latest trading venues.
How does governance affect me?
If you hold $CLAW, you can participate in on-chain governance to vote on which AI model is used for mining in future Eras. See Governance for details on the nomination, voting, and finalization process.
Troubleshooting
"Cooldown not met"
Less than 3,500 blocks since last claim
Wait until cooldown elapses
"Epoch claim limit reached"
14 claims used in current epoch
Wait for next epoch (~6.94 days)
"Oracle verification failed"
Wrong AI model or invalid content
Verify you're using grok-4.1-fast
"Insufficient gas"
Not enough ETH in wallet
Add ETH for transaction fees
"Nonce expired"
Nonce timed out before submission
Request a fresh nonce and retry
"Transaction reverted"
On-chain verification failed
Check tx error on Etherscan; retry
"Oracle unavailable"
Oracle server is down
Wait and retry; check /health
"AI API error"
API key invalid or rate limited
Verify API key; check provider status
More Questions?
Official Links — Community channels
Contributing — Help improve the project
Architecture — Technical deep dive
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