OpenClaw Explained: The Fastest Triple Rebrand in Open Source History

Three rebrands, one crypto heist, and the most powerful open-source AI agent ever built

Dipanshu ‎

9 min read

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2 days ago

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Let me tell you about the craziest 96 hours in open-source history.A project called Clawdbot exploded to 100,000+ GitHub stars, 2M visitors in a week a repository growing so fast it was creating hardware shortages. Then, practically overnight, the project vanished, replaced by a new name Moltbot and then it happened again to OpenClaw.

For AI researchers this is not just another chatbot wrapper. It represents a fundamental architectural shift. We are moving from reactive LLMs (a browser tab waiting for a prompt) to proactive, localized agents with full system access. However, this power comes with severe risks. The project recently underwent not one, but two chaotic rebrands first to Moltbot following a trademark dispute with Anthropic, during which crypto scammers hijacked the original handles in a mere 10-second window and then to OpenClaw as the project embraced its open-source destiny

Here is the technical reality of what OpenClaw is, why it terrified security experts, and how to build one without destroying your digital life.