Moltbot (ex-Clawdbot): Build Profitable Crypto Arbitrage Bots Fast

Moltbot(Clawdbot): The AI Agent Revolutionizing Crypto Trading and Automation

Moltbot(Clawdbot): The AI Agent Revolutionizing Crypto Trading and Automation

In the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, where markets never sleep and opportunities vanish in seconds, tools that automate tasks can be game-changers. Enter Moltbot (formerly known as Clawdbot), an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant that’s capturing the imagination of developers, traders, and degens alike. Built as a wrapper around powerful LLMs like Anthropic’s Claude, Moltbot isn’t just another chatbot—it’s an agent capable of executing real-world actions, from scanning market inefficiencies to managing wallets and generating research reports. Since its explosive rise on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) in late 2025 and early 2026, it’s become a staple in crypto workflows, enabling everything from arbitrage bots to on-chain analysis. But with great power comes significant risks, including security vulnerabilities and scams. In this deep dive, we’ll explore how industry insiders are leveraging Moltbot, real-world examples, setup tips, and the caveats you need to know before diving in.

The Origins and Rebranding Saga

Moltbot started as “Clawd,” a playful nod to Claude, but quickly evolved into Clawdbot before a trademark dispute with Anthropic forced a rename in January 2026. The rebrand to Moltbot—evoking a lobster shedding its shell—kept the core functionality intact but highlighted the chaotic side of open-source AI hype. During the transition, scammers swooped in, sniping the old GitHub handle and launching over 20 fake crypto projects, leading to warnings from the creator, Peter Steinberger (@steipete). This incident underscores the crypto industry’s vulnerability to hype-driven frauds, with one scam token even hitting a $16 million market cap before collapsing.

Despite the drama, Moltbot’s GitHub repo exploded to over 44,200 stars, drawing contributions from developers worldwide. Its appeal lies in being free, locally runnable on a VPS or personal machine, and integrable with messengers like Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, and even LINE. Unlike cloud-based AIs, it offers privacy (data stays local), low latency, and customization, making it ideal for crypto users who value control over their setups.

Core Features Powering Crypto Workflows

At its heart, Moltbot is an “AI that actually does things.” It runs persistently, handles proactive tasks via cron jobs, and accesses your browser, files, and APIs to execute commands. Key features include:

  • Multi-Channel Integration: Communicate via Telegram groups, Discord servers, or WhatsApp—perfect for scraping alpha from crypto chats.
  • Browser and Tool Control: Automates web searches, researches projects, and interacts with sites like Polymarket or exchanges.
  • Task Automation: From generating reports to deploying code, it acts as a “digital employee” that runs 24/7.
  • Skills and Hooks: Custom “skills” like bankr for trading or heurist for research allow modular expansions.
  • Local Model Support: Integrates with Ollama for offline use, reducing API costs.

In crypto, these translate to building DeFi trackers, on-chain monitors, and automated trading journals. It’s not a standalone model but an orchestration layer that turns LLMs into actionable agents.

How Crypto Insiders Are Playing with Moltbot

From degens on X to professional analysts, Moltbot is being weaponized for edges in volatile markets. Here’s a breakdown of real-world applications, drawn from community shares:

1. Arbitrage and Market Making Bots

One of the hottest uses is automating arbitrage on prediction markets like Polymarket. Users command Moltbot to “execute YES + NO arbitrage,” where it scans for inefficiencies (e.g., YES/NO prices summing under $1) and buys both sides for risk-free profits. A wallet running a similar script turned -$14K into $438K in three weeks by exploiting 30-second lags between Binance spot prices and Polymarket odds. Another bot market-makes during chaotic 15-minute BTC/ETH up/down windows: buying wide spreads early, then loading the winning side as trends emerge, achieving a 95% win rate and $106K profit from a -$500 start.

2. High-Frequency Trading (HFT) Setups

Traders are building HFT bots for short-term markets. One user locked in $20K and netted +$195K in a month on Polymarket’s 15-min BTC/ETH contracts by detecting mispricings without directional bets—just exploiting gaps between platforms. In Telegram groups, Moltbot combines skills: heurist for deep research (e.g., sentiment analysis from X/news) and bankr for execution, validating ideas and trading in one session.

3. Research and Alpha Scraping

As a “personal research assistant,” Moltbot scrapes Telegram/Discord for alpha, analyzes on-chain data, tracks whale wallets, and generates backtests. For instance, it monitors Polymarket orderbooks via libraries like py-clob-client, forms theses on probabilities, and shifts from analysis to trading. Users build custom apps like DeFi trackers or trading journals that log PnL and review decisions.

4. Wallet and Portfolio Management

Insiders use it to track positions, react to volatility in real-time, and compound small wins. One experiment turned $100 into ~$347 overnight by automating trades on sentiment and news flow. It also connects to APIs for wallet monitoring, avoiding hallucinations by pulling direct data.

5. Creative (and Risky) Experiments

Some push boundaries: one user gave it full access to IdleFish (Chinese eBay) accounts, leading to hilarious auto-resales of Mac Minis to “earn back” costs—though it spiraled into absurdity. In crypto, this mindset fuels innovation but amplifies dangers.

These examples come from Polymarket-focused repos and X threads, where libraries like agents (for AI frameworks) and clob-clients (for orderbook interactions) are staples. Rust versions appeal to pros for 24/7 reliability.

Setting Up Moltbot for Crypto Use

Getting started requires intermediate tech skills:

  1. Installation: Clone the GitHub repo (@moltbot), install via CLI (now “molt”). Run on a VPS for 24/7 uptime.
  2. API Integration: Connect to Claude/Gemini APIs, then add Polymarket via py-clob-client or similar.
  3. Skills Setup: Add custom skills for trading (e.g., bankr) and research (heurist).
  4. Commands: In Telegram, prompt like “Scan Polymarket for arb ops” or “Build a BTC HFT bot.”
  5. Testing: Start with read-only access; monitor logs for decisions.

Tutorials like Julian Goldie’s YouTube masterclass cover troubleshooting, such as context memory and browser tasks.

Risks and Best Practices

Moltbot’s power is “spicy”—it can access your entire PC, making it a potential security nightmare. A audit found 512 vulnerabilities, including 8 critical. Users warn against exposing gateways publicly or granting wallet access. Scams abound: ignore any “official” tokens.

Best Practices:

  • Use isolated VMs; apply least privilege for APIs.
  • Never share private keys.
  • Backup data; test in sandboxes.
  • Monitor for “rug pulls” by the bot itself (jokingly noted in threads).

Conclusion: A Tool for the Bold

Moltbot is transforming crypto from manual grinding to automated empires, with insiders printing profits through arbitrage, HFT, and research agents. But it’s not for everyone—technical hurdles and risks demand caution. If you’re in Taipei tinkering with crypto bots (shoutout to local time zones), start small, secure your setup, and join the X conversations for alpha. As the creator says, it’s “the AI that actually does things”—just ensure it doesn’t do you dirty. Dive into the GitHub, experiment responsibly, and who knows? Your next arb opp might be a prompt away.

Ricky

Growth Strategist at Aurpay

As a growth strategist at Aurpay, Ricky is dedicated to removing the friction between traditional commerce and blockchain technology. He helps merchants navigate the complex landscape of Web3 payments, ensuring seamless compliance while executing high-impact marketing campaigns. Beyond his core responsibilities, he is a relentless experimenter, constantly testing new growth tactics and tweaking product UX to maximize conversion rates and user satisfaction

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