The creators of a cryptocurrency inspired by Netflix series Squid Game have reportedly pulled the plug on the project and made off with more than $2million.
The SQUID cryptocurrency was marketed as a play-to-earn token, giving players the opportunity to win prize money through six online games based on the viral television series.
‘The more people join, the larger reward pool will be (sic),’ its white paper said, explaining that developers would pocket 10 per cent of the entry fees with 90 per cent going to the winner.
SQUID was marketed as a play-to-earn crypto coin for a game inspired by Netflix series Squid Game
It added that the games ‘do not provide deadly consequences’, unlike the television series, but today investors have lost over $2million after the scammers deleted all traces of the game.
Early suspicions arose last week when investors spotted they were unable to sell their coins because of ‘anti-dumping technology’ but speculators still continued to pile money into the project.
The token peaked at $2,861.80 this morning before crashing to $0.0007 within minutes.
This is commonly referred to in crypto circles as a rug pull, when developers abandon a project and take off with the money.
SQUID’s website and social media platforms have all been taken offline.
‘We have received multiple reports that the website and socials are no longer functional and the users are not able to sell this token in Pancake Swap [a crypto trading platform].
‘Please do your own due diligence and exercise extreme caution,’ crypto website Coin Market Cap said.
‘This project, while clearly inspired by the Netflix show of the same name, is not affiliated with the official IP.’
A similar rug pull cropped up earlier this year with Mando, a cryptocurrency that used images from Disney’s Mandalorian TV show without authorisation.
Experts have warned speculators about a new crop of meme coins, inspired by viral pictures, videos or GIFs, which have seen their market caps soar in recent weeks.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .footerText a:hover{text-decoration: underline;} #fiveDealsWidget .footerSmall{font-size:10px; padding-top:10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
