"Squid Game Cryptocurrency Surges 2400% in a Day, Then Drops to 0 Won"

A scene from Netflix's "Squid Game" (Photo by CNBC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A cryptocurrency themed after Netflix's popular original drama "Squid Game" became worthless overnight. As Squid Game gained worldwide popularity, it appears that the coin developer, unrelated to the production company, borrowed the name and cashed out the coins before disappearing.

On the 1st (local time), CNN reported that the price of the cryptocurrency "Squid," themed after Squid Game, plummeted to zero dollars. According to CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency price, which had surged to $2,861 at one point that day, dropped to $0.00079 on the same day.

According to IT specialized media Gizmodo, the developers of the Squid cryptocurrency appear to have committed a so-called "rug pull" scam by cashing out all the coins and causing the value to collapse. CNN reported that they contacted the cryptocurrency developers but received no response.

Launched on the 26th of last month at $0.01 per coin, the cryptocurrency skyrocketed, experiencing a 2400% surge in just one day on the 28th. Due to the consecutive rapid increases, the market capitalization just before the rug pull once reached $2 million (approximately 240 million KRW).

The coin developer initially introduced Squid coin as a token that could be used to participate in an online Squid tournament. They announced plans to hold an online competition next month and to award 90% of the total entry fees as prize money to the single winner of six game rounds named after the drama.

However, Gizmodo reported that there were signs everywhere that this cryptocurrency was a scam, noting that the cryptocurrency’s website was full of typos, and investors could buy the cryptocurrency but could not sell it.

CoinMarketCap, the exchange that listed this coin, also belatedly posted a notice warning that Squid might be a scam and advised caution in investing. Netflix also stated that the Squid coin listed on the CoinMarketCap exchange has no affiliation with them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.