Grok Declares ’No Winners’ in Crypto Rover Contest After ZachXBT Exposes Pump-and-Dump Scheme

Grok just dropped a truth bomb on the Crypto Rover competition—refusing to crown a winner after blockchain sleuth ZachXBT uncovered blatant market manipulation.

Pump-and-dump evidence forces Grok's hand

The AI's refusal to pick a champion sends a clear message: crypto's wild west days won't fly under its watch. ZachXBT's on-chain forensics allegedly revealed coordinated price pumping before the contest—classic wash trading patterns that would make even 2017 ICO scammers blush.

Another day, another crypto 'competition' that smells like exit liquidity

While Grok's integrity move deserves credit, let's not pretend this wasn't predictable. The space still treats retail traders like ATMs—just with more sophisticated UI and influencer shills. Maybe next year's prize should be a subpoena-proof offshore LLC?

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.