Squid Game crypto coin plunges to $0 in just a week following an alleged ‘rug pull’ scam

Squid Game is once again making headlines, but not for good reasons. A crypto coin riding the popularity of the South Korean series saw a massive increase in value just days after it was introduced. However, not a week later, it plunged to $0 in what crypto enthusiasts believe was due to a "rug pull" scam.

The Squid Game coin (SQUID) was introduced Tuesday last week at $0.01, but it quickly saw substantial surges in the following days. Data provided by CoinMarketCap show that the crypto coin peaked at $2,856.64 on Monday, Nov. 1, at around 5:35 p.m. ET. However, it immediately plunged to $0.0008326 just 10 minutes later.

The crypto price-tracking platform suggests that the fate of the Squid Game coin may have been another unfortunate incident of a rug pull scam. Rug pull happens when crypto developers suddenly abandon a project after cashing in on the funds provided by investors. The culprits usually wait for a large number of investors to trade a more popular cryptocurrency with the newly introduced coin before withdrawing them, which then drains the liquidity pool driving the coin's cost to $0.

No one has heard from the SQUID developers since all this unfolded. And it does not seem like they will be coming out with explanations anytime soon. The website for the coin's play-to-earn game is no longer working, while their official Twitter page is currently temporarily restricted.

Some individuals and publications like Gizmodo tried to warn investors about the Squid Game coin shortly after it was launched. Gizmodo took note of several red flags it observed, including the investors' inability to sell the coin right from the start. The same report also noted some concerning issues with the developers' website and the fact that its Twitter page and Telegram channel did not allow others to reply or send messages.

The crypto coin, which is in no way related to Netflix or the makers of the popular show, was also promised to introduce a play-to-earn game based on "Squid Game." The project was planned to feature children's games that were also used in the TV series, including Red Light, Green Light, Dalgona Candy, Tug of War, which all require a certain amount of SQUID to join. The whitepaper reads, "Compared to $38.5 million bonus for the last winner, we crypto Squid Game will not limit the maximum of the final bonus as well as the numbers of participates [sic]."