While I don't have OpenClaw installed and not sure how I 'd use it I doubt all the hype around it is because it doesn't solve a real problem. The project grew to huge popularity organically!!!
How can that happen if it doesn't serve a need people have?
Compare NFTs. For them, it depends a bit on whether you see scratching a gambling itch as a real problem.
Driving without seatbelts while drunk is actually quite popular too.
people are trying to run as fast as they can so that they are not left behind
(I've never run openclaw but planning)
Maybe let me ask this question:
How is this any different from NFT?
I'll ignore the bait and answer: NFTs were gambling in disguise, these claws are personal/household assistants, that proactively perform various tasks and can be genuinely useful. The security problem is very much unsolved, but comparing them to NFTs is just willfully ignorant at best
NFTs can't delete your mails.
"And that's why we've created MailCoin, the best way to perform stochastic mailbox ablation with with the latest, hottest blockchain technology." - from Show HN, March 20, 2026
Now with NFTs and pixel art, memorialising each and every one of your deleted emails in a unique and non-fungible way.
…
…
Now I actually want to make it, and build a "card trading game" on top of it.
NFTs were fueled by two different drives. One interested in the technology and if it could do something new and interesting, and another seeing it as an area of speculation (be that fueled by get rich quick and cash out or thinking it is a long term investment generally driven by how much the first factor played in).
OpenClaw seems to lack the monetary interest driving it as much. Not to say there is none, but I don't see people doing nearly as much to get me to buy their OpenClaw.
So, yes, on some level, hype alone doesn't prove use, because it can also be because of making money. But, on the other hand, the specific version of hype seems much more focused on the "Look at what I built" and much less on "Better buy in now" from the builders themselves. Of course the API providers selling tokens are loving it for financial reasons.