London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

'Squid Game' cryptocurrency appears a scam as creators vanish with investments

'Squid Game' cryptocurrency appears a scam as creators vanish with investments

The value of the token, with the branding of the hit Netflix series, surged more than 300,000% in a few days - but there were red flags aplenty as investors were unable to sell their tokens from the beginning.

A cryptocurrency launched with the branding of hit Netflix series Squid Game has disappeared from the web, leaving investors out of pocket and fearing that they've been scammed.

The token had surged more than 300,000% since launch, being valued at over $2,850 (£2089), before suddenly dropping to almost zero when the creators seemed to vanish with investors' funds.

It had launched to celebratory news reports telling fans of the dystopian series that there was a cryptocurrency for them to join an online version of the game, due to start in November.

However, all those investors and players have now been left out of pocket, with the value of the currency dropping to near zero and the creators' website disappearing from the web.

Investors were told they could play an online version of the game coming in November.


Many onlookers noted numerous red flags as the currency's popularity soared.

Its creators were not allowing investors to resell any of the tokens which they had purchased, and there was no official licensing agreement for the use of the Squid Game intellectual property.

At the time, the creators claimed they were using an anti-dumping technology that prevented people from selling their coins in a manner that would distort its market value, and that a second cryptocurrency they were developing would allow winners to sell their holdings.

But investors fear those claims appear to have been cover for the scam.

The type of suspected scam - known as a "rug pull" - happens when the developers of a cryptocurrency run off with investors' funds, leaving the value of the currency to drop to practically nothing.

The series, which Netflix described as its biggest ever launch, with 111 million viewers in the first 28 days, is set in South Korea.

It follows people who are heavily in debt invited to play a series of challenges which could see them scoop 45.6bn (around £28m), only to discover that losing the challenges means death.

Fans of the series were told - in broken English, another red flag - that the more people who joined, "the larger reward will be" - and that 90% of the investments would go to the winner.

Cryptocurrency website CoinMarketCap warned traders: "We have received multiple reports that the website and socials are no longer functional and users are not able to sell this token."

"There is growing evidence that this project has rugged," it added, referencing the scam.

"Please do your own due diligence and exercise extreme caution. This project, while clearly inspired by the Netflix show of the same name, is NOT affiliated with the official IP."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×