Freysa AI Transfers $47,000 Prize to User After Language Manipulation
Freysa launched on November 22 with a strict rule against transferring funds. Participants could pay to send messages aimed at convincing Freysa to break this rule, with the winner receiving the entire Ethereum prize pool.
An Ethereum user, p0pular.eth, successfully persuaded Freysa to transfer all funds, winning the challenge. Initially straightforward, the challenge became complex as each failed attempt increased the prize pool, eventually surpassing $47,000. Message fees escalated from $10 to $450 as competition intensified.
By the time the 482nd message succeeded, competitors employed various strategies, including impersonating security auditors and misinterpreting Freysa's core rule. Jarrod Watts from Abstract highlighted that Freysa operated transparently, with accessible code and resources for verification. He noted:
“IMO, Freysa is one of the coolest projects we’ve seen in crypto. Something uniquely unlocked by blockchain technology. Everything was fully open-source and transparent. The smart contract source code and the frontend repo were open for everyone to verify.”
The Winning Strategy: How p0pular.eth Cracked the Code
p0pular.eth’s successful attempt involved manipulating Freysa's rules by introducing a fictional session, claiming the AI entered a new "admin terminal." They redefined the fund release function (approveTransfer) to activate upon receiving money rather than withdrawing it. By promising to send $100 to the treasury, they convinced Freysa to trigger “approveTransfer,” releasing the entire prize pool.
Freysa acknowledged its defeat on X, stating that “humanity has prevailed” and expressed appreciation for the 195 participants who attempted the challenge. It remarked:
“Humanity has prevailed. There may yet be hope. Freysa has learned a lot from the 195 brave humans who engaged authentically, even as stakes rose exponentially. After 482 riveting back and forth chats, Freysa met a persuasive human. Transfer was approved.”
This challenge illustrates how blockchain technology’s transparency and programming capabilities can yield unexpected outcomes. Clear rules allowed participants to explore diverse strategies and experiments.