‘Squid Game’ won over audiences with its dark, satirical spin on the survival genre
(Picture: Netflix)By now we’ve all binged watch the South Korean Netflix smash hit series Squid Game so it’s natural that someone would try to cash in on its success with the other thing that people are obsessed with at the moment – cryptocurrency.
A cryptocurrency called SQUID was released to the market last week and quickly rocketed up in value, soaring by 25,000 per cent in less than a week.
However, anyone investing in SQUID should have spotted that not all was what it seems as many highlighted the obvious spelling mistakes on the currency’s website and social media channels. It was also impossible to reply to any of the tweets that SQUID was sharing on Twitter, as reported by Gizmodo.
Another concern should have been that no one who had purchased SQUID could actually sell it on, meaning it was impossible for them to make any money from it.
It soon became apparent on Monday morning that this was, what they call in the crypto world, a ‘rug pull’ when the investment price dropped from $2,861 to $0 in a matter of seconds.
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The moment when the price dropped was captured live by streamer ‘Bagsy’ which really shows just how sudden the fall was.
Did you hear about the Squid Game Token that was released recently? It rose by more than 60,000% in less than a week.
— Trust - Crypto Wallet (@TrustWallet) November 1, 2021
It was a classic 'Rug Pull' scam, and the moment was captured live by @imBagsy.
⚠️ Be careful out there and make sure you do your research before investing ⚠️ https://t.co/FuDGho3MwV
The scam has reportedly seen the creators of SQUID, who have since deleted all of the currency’s social media accounts and website (https://www.squidgame.cash/), make off with more than $2.1 million in cash.
‘Rug pulls’ are what the crypto industry call a very specific scam that involves whoever was involved in the creation of the currency selling their coins for real money and in turn draining the liquidity pool and value of the currency.
As it turns out, SQUID had more in common with Squid Game than just a name. Those hoping to invest in the currency were put through six online games. Those wishing to play were told “the more people join, the larger reward pool will be (sic)” with 90 per cent of the winnings going to the players and the remaining 10 per cent going to the developers.
Cruelly, that does sound like something that would happen in the show, which exploits downtrodden and cash strapped people in South Korea and convinces them to take part in a deadly game of luck.
Unlike Squid Game, the players didn’t pay the cost of losing with their lives but were significantly out of pocket, which sounds like the better of the two options.
