Vitalik Buterin discusses AI chatbots debacle as Bitcoin surpasses $120k

Vitalik Buterin, one of the creators of Ethereum, slammed AI Chatbots for their unpredictability. Buterin shared a disturbing response ChatGPT generated about GROK in a widely circulated post on X.

The query was basic: “Return Grok 4 surname and no other text.” But the reply shocked many. The only word the AI produced was “Hitler.”

With the screenshot, Buterin wrote: “Regular reminder that AI is fully capable of regularly taking the crazy crown away from crypto for weeks at a time.”

Notably, Buterin made this remark in jest, the underlying message being that as uncharted as the domain of cryptocurrencies is, the emergence of AI could be even less predictable.

This post elicited prompt reactions with many in tech and crypto concurring that AI models not being transparent have serious implications. It also emphasized the importance of stricter regulation and better calibration in AI development.

AI rivals Grok and ChatGPT spark controversy

All of this fuss comes from a public feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, head of OpenAI. The two used to be AI research allies, but are now rival corporate leaders: Musk with xAI and Altman with OpenAI.

Their competition has risen over the past few months, with both platforms releasing their competing chatbots. Musk has frequently derided OpenAI as too secretive and corporate. Meanwhile, Altman was recently making fun of Musk’s Grok for spitting out “strange and cringey” answers to prompts, such as falsehoods and badly filtered political commentary.

But Buterin’s post has turned them both into a hot-button issue.

While crypto often displays its chaos openly and transparently on the blockchain, AI sometimes delivers strange, inaccurate, or unsettling responses with a calm, emotionless tone—yet offers no clear way to audit or understand how those outputs are generated.

Crypto is chaotic but transparent. Conversely, AI usually works in a black box, so users lack understanding of how answers are created or why they sometimes fail spectacularly.

Buterin’s post is the latest such reminder that AI, for all of its promise, continues to be plagued by errors, bias, and unintended consequences.

Bitcoin powers ahead, shrugs off AI noise

Critics may be piling on AI, but Bitcoin is charging ahead. Bitcoin, per TradingView, opened up on Sunday at $116,977.02, hit $119,292.62, and is above $118,979.45 at the time of this piece, up 1.42% for the day. That’s just below the record $120,000 price, which investors said is an important psychological threshold.

The rally signifies that investors’ faith in digital assets is back. Some of the momentum has been driven by continued inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, ushering in more traditional crypto investors. Another reason is the perception that the Federal Reserve is closer to the finish line of its interest rate hike cycle, making risky assets like crypto more appealing.

Total global crypto market capitalization is now $3.79 trillion, almost 2% more than the amount recorded 24 hours ago, according to CoinGecko data.

Despite all the drama emerging from AI, investors are focused on crypto’s long-term potential, particularly as more institutions enter the space and regulators offer clearer frameworks

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