After all, the Squid Game turned out to be a con game. It is not about the smash Netflix series that had the whole globe glued to their screens for weeks on end, but about the eponymous cryptocurrency that was inspired by the program. However, despite the collapse of the Squid cryptocurrency on Monday, the hucksters who took advantage of the popularity of the program were able to earn an estimated $3.38 million profit.
According to CoinMarketCap, the coin reached a high value of $2,861 before plummeting to a low of $0, resulting in the investors losing all of their money. The Squid Game coin, which was launched last week amid much scepticism, was really a front for a fairly typical stealing activity in the cryptocurrency sector.
It is referred to as a “rug pull.” It occurs when the cryptocurrency’s creators cash out their coins for real money, possibly after the prices have reached an all-time high – as was the case with the Squid cryptocurrency, which saw a price increase of more than 310,000 percent – leaving almost no liquidity in the exchange for any further transactions. As a result, the investors will not be able to sell their coins.
On October 20, the cryptocurrency Squid Game became available for purchase, allowing investors to acquire a pay-to-play token for an online game that was inspired by the Korean television programme. The source of inspiration for the coin was rather clear to identify.
Investors were under the impression that like-planned crypto would result in them receiving more Squid tokens, similar to how some indebted individuals play do-or-die versions of children’s games to gain money in the Netflix series. The website for the Squid Game cryptocurrency, SquidGame.cash, was the most obvious indicator that the cryptocurrency was a hoax.
The three-week-old website, which has since been taken down, had grammatical errors as well as various odd typos. Those two items should have raised red signals for investors, who have now been left high and dry as a result of the heist. The social media profiles associated with the cryptocurrency have likewise vanished without a trace.
There was also a Telegram channel for those involved in the Squid trade, but it would not allow comments from anybody other than the channel’s administrators, which was still another red signal.
The greatest red signal, however, was when investors starting experiencing difficulties while trying to sell their Squid tokens on the site.
Because of the significant increase in the value of the cryptocurrency over the last week, which can be ascribed in large part to extensive publicity in mainstream media, there has been growing concern that the token is part of a fraud. However, before they could do anything, the currency’s founders removed it from the market, so removing all of its liquidity.
Moreover, CoinMarketCap cautioned potential investors against investing their money in the cryptocurrency, advising them to “please do your own due research and use care when trading.” Just because cryptocurrency is the craze right now doesn’t mean you should spend carelessly – and almost blindly – in a scam that is merely attempting to utilise a popular cultural item in order to get attention in the process.
Before Squid Game, con artists attempted to defraud people out of their money by using a cryptocurrency termed Mando, which was inspired on the Disney+ program Mandalorian. Disney was quick to recognize the problem and tell consumers about it. Although it is difficult to distinguish between a real cryptocurrency and a bogus coin, investors should exercise more caution.
