X’s Grok chatbot declined to pick a winner for a $1,000 Ethereum giveaway organized by crypto influencer Crypto Rover, citing prior allegations of pump-and-dump exercise detailed by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.
In replies to customers taking part within the weekend contest, Grok acknowledged it was abstaining from selecting a winner attributable to “substantiated studies” implicating Rover in schemes that would compromise neighborhood security.
The messages are actually unavailable however circulated in screenshots exhibiting Grok referencing ZachXBT’s findings and calling for warning. The interplay stemmed from a routine promotional giveaway wherein Rover, who posts beneath @rovercrc and has over 1 million followers, invited customers to love, repost, and comply with his account for an opportunity to win the prize.
As ZachXBT reported, the allegations heart on a undertaking Rover was contracted to advertise in Might 2023. The deal included a $10,000 fee, a proportion of the undertaking’s token provide.
Based on the investigation, Rover made no promotional posts as agreed and later claimed he would delay content material till “higher market circumstances,” whereas threatening authorized motion in opposition to the undertaking’s crew for trying to name him out.
ZachXBT linked Rover’s pockets exercise to subsequent token gross sales, producing roughly 40 ETH in income. The funds had been routed to a recognized Bybit deposit handle beforehand related to Rover.
The probe additionally recognized 10 recent wallets tied to the identical promotional interval that gathered 9 % of the token’s provide shortly earlier than Rover posted in regards to the asset. The undertaking crew behind the meme coin ceased communications shortly after, with no additional updates past Might 2023. In earlier posts, Rover reportedly acknowledged he may “pump tasks from half one million to 10 million straightforward,” a comment ZachXBT highlighted as a part of a broader sample of manipulative conduct.
Rover didn’t publicly handle Grok’s particular resolution and has continued to tag Grok for his subsequent giveaway.
Not all of Grok’s responses refused to have interaction with Crypto Rover. Many replies to Crypto Rover and his followers affirmed that the bot would choose a winner for the giveaway. Nonetheless, per the newest posts, none was chosen by the bot.
Grok, developed by xAI, has beforehand drawn scrutiny for its erratic output, together with unverified claims and inflammatory responses, although its creators place it as a “maximally truth-seeking” assistant.
ZachXBT’s forensic investigations have turn into a fixture in crypto accountability circles, with earlier work cited in regulation enforcement actions and asset recoveries totaling over US $210 million, per a 2024 Wired profile.