The recent accusations of Elon Musk against the popular meme coin-linked artificial intelligence-powered bot “Explain This Bob” has caused a stir on Twitter.
In a tweet, Musk claimed that the account was a “scam crypto account,” prompting swift action from the social media platform.
Soon after Musk’s allegations, Twitter suspended the account, adding fuel to the already heated debate surrounding the intersection of cryptocurrencies and AI.
The suspension of this account, known for its unique ability to explain complex concepts with a touch of humor, has left the cryptocurrency community and AI enthusiasts intrigued and speculating about the underlying reasons behind Musk’s claims.
This sure looks like a scam crypto account. If so, it will be suspended.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2023
‘Explain This Bob’ Suspended On Twitter
The ‘Explain This Bob’ account, created by Prabhu Biswal from India, relied on OpenAI’s advanced GPT-4 model to comprehend and craft responses to tweets directed at the account. Prior to its suspension, the account had gained an impressive following of over 400,000 users.
On June 18, Musk addressed the bot directly in a tweet, expressing doubts about its legitimacy.
In his tweet, Musk wrote, “This sure looks like a scam crypto account. If so, it will be suspended.”
This accusation marked a significant shift in Musk’s perception of the bot, as he had previously tweeted “I love Bob” in response to one of its tweets on April 20.
I love Bob
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2023
Interestingly, this particular tweet was prominently featured on the project’s website, further highlighting the sudden change in the billionaire’s stance towards the AI-powered bot.
Elon Musk: Impact On Bob Token (BOB)
The suspension of the Explain This Bob account had repercussions for the associated ERC-20 meme coin, Bob Token (BOB), which was introduced in April.
Following the suspension, and at the time of writing, BOB price experienced a significant decline of over 30%. However, in an interesting turn of events, the token has since recovered slightly, showing a 10% increase in value over the past 24 hours, data from CoinGecko shows.
As of today, the market cap of cryptocurrencies stood at $1 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
While Twitter took action against the Explain This Bob account, no similar action was taken against the account associated with Bob Token. The project’s team responded to the suspension with a touch of humor, sharing a meme depicting Elon Musk monitoring a distressed “Bob” in a prison setting.
#FREEBOBpic.twitter.com/SOUm7opQ7o
— Bob (@BobEthToken) June 18, 2023
In response to the suspension, the hashtag “FREEBOB” has gained traction on Crypto Twitter. Many observers are of the opinion that Bob Token is not a scam coin and that the suspension is unjustified. They argue that the token’s launch was conducted fairly and emphasize that BOB operates as a fully decentralized currency.
Meanwhile, some observers believe that Elon Musk perceives Explain This Bob as a marketing tactic aimed at artificially inflating the price of BOB.