Squid Game, which advertised itself as a “play-to-earn digital currency”, had seen its value take off as of recent – flooding by huge margins.
It was reprimanded for not permitting individuals to exchange their tokens.
This sort of trick is usually called a “rug pull” by crypto financial backers.
This happens when the advertiser of token attracts purchasers, stops trading and leaves with the cash raised from deals.
Squid’s engineers have snatched an expected $3.38m (£2.48m), as indicated by innovation site Gizmodo.
“Play-to-earn” cryptocurrency is where people buy tokens to use in online games and can earn more tokens which can later be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or national currencies.
Last Tuesday, Squid was trading at just 1 cent. In less than a week its price had jumped to over $2,856. Its value has now plummeted by 99.99%, said cryptocurrency data website CoinMarketCap.
Squid was billed as a token that could be used for a new online game inspired by the Netflix series – which tells the story of a forceful group of people to play deadly children’s games for money. The game was due to go live this month.
However, cryptocurrency experts had warned of several tell-tale signs that it was likely to be a scam.
Most telling was that people who bought Squid tokens were unable to sell them.
Critics also highlighted that its website contained many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. The website is no longer online and social media accounts promoting the tokens have also vanished.
It is one of many schemes by which naïve retail investors are drawn in and exploited by malevolent crypto promoters.
Buyers need to be aware when buying cryptocurrencies as there is almost no regulatory oversight.
In fact, open pump and dump schemes are rampant in the crypto world, with investors often jumping in with eyes wide open. Perhaps hoping that they can ride the wave and dump their holdings for a quick profit before prices collapse.
Squid was available for sale on decentralized crypto exchanges including PancakeSwap and DODO. Therefore, allows for buyers to connect directly to sellers, without a central authority.
Nowadays there can be a list of new coins on decentralized exchanges on the first day of their creation, without any regulation or due diligence.
So you could be buying coins from anyone with any agenda. Hence, it is necessary to be careful regarding those purchases
