X’s Grok chatbot declined to select a winner for a $1,000 Ethereum giveaway organized by crypto influencer Crypto Rover, citing prior allegations of pump-and-dump activity detailed by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.
In replies to users participating in the weekend contest, Grok stated it was abstaining from choosing a winner due to “substantiated reports” implicating Rover in schemes that could compromise community safety.
The messages are now unavailable but circulated in screenshots showing Grok referencing ZachXBT’s findings and calling for caution. The interaction stemmed from a routine promotional giveaway in which Rover, who posts under @rovercrc and has over 1 million followers, invited users to like, repost, and follow his account for a chance to win the prize.
As ZachXBT reported, the allegations center on a project Rover was contracted to promote in May 2023. The deal included a $10,000 payment, a percentage of the project’s token supply.
According to the investigation, Rover made no promotional posts as agreed and later claimed he would delay content until “better market conditions,” while threatening legal action against the project’s team for attempting to call him out.
ZachXBT linked Rover’s wallet activity to subsequent token sales, generating roughly 40 ETH in profits. The funds were routed to a known Bybit deposit address previously associated with Rover.
The probe also identified 10 fresh wallets tied to the same promotional period that accumulated 9 percent of the token’s supply shortly before Rover posted about the asset. The project team behind the meme coin ceased communications shortly after, with no further updates beyond May 2023. In previous posts, Rover reportedly stated he could “pump projects from half a million to ten million easy,” a remark ZachXBT highlighted as part of a broader pattern of manipulative behavior.
Rover did not publicly address Grok’s specific decision and has continued to tag Grok for his next giveaway.
Not all of Grok’s responses refused to engage with Crypto Rover. Many replies to Crypto Rover and his followers affirmed that the bot would select a winner for the giveaway. However, per the latest posts, none was chosen by the bot.
Grok, developed by xAI, has previously drawn scrutiny for its erratic output, including unverified claims and inflammatory responses, though its creators position it as a “maximally truth-seeking” assistant.
ZachXBT’s forensic investigations have become a fixture in crypto accountability circles, with previous work cited in law enforcement actions and asset recoveries totaling over US $210 million, per a 2024 Wired profile.
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