GROK, a suspicious AI chatbot-inspired memecoin, has seen its value plummet by more than 50% after reports emerged that its developer was linked to a past crypto scam.
The memecoin is named after Elon Musk’s Grok xAI chatbot service, which was launched earlier in the month. The logo for the token, according to CoinMarketCap, looks questioningly like the new X logo. However, that is where the similarity ends, as the token is entirely unrelated to the Musk-led company.
Last week, CryptoSlate reported that Musk said none of his companies, including xAI, Tesla, and social media platform X, would ever issue a cryptocurrency token.
ZachXBT reveals GROK developer’s shady past.
On-chain sleuth ZachXBT revealed that GROK’s developer is a scammer who has reused the exact X/Twitter account of the project for at least one other scam. He said:
“Not that people in this space will care but @GROKERC20 $GROK was created by a scammer. Same exact X/Twitter account has been reused for at least one other scam.”
Screenshots shared by ZachXBT displayed the developer’s previous issuance of an ANDY token, which no longer exists, and highlighted multiple changes in the developer’s Telegram handle.
After ZachXBT’s disclosure, the token experienced a substantial drop in value amid a significant increase in its trading volumes, according to data from Coingecko.
For context, crypto analyst Lookonchain reported that an address sold 27.32 million GROK for 212 ETH two hours before ZachXBT made his reveal. Shortly afterward, the same address bought back 16.3 million GROK at a reduced price of 80 ETH, valued at $164,000.
The project has since attempted to regain public trust, with the developer burning 180 million tokens worth more than $2 million. “$GROK will continue forward as a 100% community-owned project. No tokens are held in the deployer wallet anymore,” according to a post on its official X handle.
Meanwhile, this incident highlights the tactics of malicious actors who target compelling narratives to attract attention within the crypto community. Crypto traders should prioritize thorough research into a project before investing.