Crypto history · fraud, hype and a rug pull

The SQUID Token Scam

In 2021, anonymous promoters exploited the worldwide popularity of Netflix's Squid Game to sell an unofficial cryptocurrency called SQUID. Buyers watched its quoted price explode—while many discovered they could not freely sell it.

Not Bitcoin Not affiliated with Netflix 2021 rug pull BSC / PancakeSwap

Why this page belongs on a Bitcoin education site: SQUID was not Bitcoin and the Bitcoin network was not involved in the scam. It is included as a warning about how the words “crypto” and a famous brand can be used to create false legitimacy, FOMO and a market price that victims may be unable to realize.

First, separate the facts

There was a TV show. There was a token. They were not the same project.

Netflix releases Squid Game

Netflix released the South Korean series globally on September 17, 2021. The fictional story involved 456 contestants playing deadly children's games for a cash prize.

An unofficial SQUID token appears

Within weeks, anonymous promoters marketed a token inspired by the show and described an upcoming “play-to-earn” online game. It had no official affiliation with Netflix.

The game pitch became the bait

People were encouraged to acquire SQUID to participate. The mechanism for selling the token was restricted, helping create a trap in which a rising screen price did not mean holders could actually cash out.

How the trap worked

Money went in easily. Getting value back out was the problem.

The promoters wrapped the token in a story about an online competition. Reporting at the time described a second token called Marbles and an “anti-dumping” mechanism that restricted sales of SQUID. One reported entry requirement for the first game was 456 SQUID.

Real money / crypto

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Acquire BNB

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Buy SQUID

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Selling restricted

The central lesson: a token can show a spectacular “market price” on a screen and still be practically worthless to you if the rules or smart contract prevent you from selling it at that price.

≈ $0.01reported launch price

$2,861.80reported peak quote

~5 min.from peak to near-zero

≈ $3.36MWIRED estimate withdrawn by creators

A seven-day lesson in FOMO

Timeline of the SQUID collapse

Sep. 17

Netflix releases Squid Game

The series launches globally and rapidly becomes a cultural phenomenon.

Late Oct.

SQUID token begins attracting buyers

An unofficial token and website use the show's popularity to promote a supposed play-to-earn game.

Oct. 29–31

Warnings appear

Reports circulate that people can buy SQUID but cannot freely sell it. CoinMarketCap displays a caution after receiving multiple reports about selling difficulties on PancakeSwap.

Nov. 1

The quoted price goes vertical

CoinMarketCap later reported a move from roughly $89 to $2,861.80 in about three hours. That spectacular number helped reinforce FOMO even though many holders were trapped.

Minutes later

The rug is pulled

The token collapses by roughly 99.99%. WIRED reported that approximately US$3.36 million was pulled from the project by its creators as liquidity disappeared.

Warning signs

Clues that should have stopped a careful buyer

No Netflix affiliation

A project borrowing the identity of a world-famous show should be independently verified with the rights holder.

Buyers reported they could not sell

If an asset can be purchased but ordinary holders cannot freely exit, its displayed price can be highly misleading.

Anonymous or unverifiable operators

Anonymous developers are not automatically fraudulent, but when combined with brand borrowing, odd selling rules and huge promises, the risk rises sharply.

A second token was part of the exit mechanism

Contemporary reporting described Marbles as part of the system needed to sell SQUID—an unusually complicated restriction that should have triggered deeper scrutiny.

Price rose faster than fundamentals

The extreme move was driven by hype and scarcity of sellers, not by a proven operating business or a functioning Netflix game.

Media attention looked like validation

News coverage of a rapidly rising token can describe a phenomenon without certifying that the asset is legitimate or safe.

Bitcoin education

What a Bitcoin holder should learn from SQUID

“Crypto” does not mean Bitcoin

Anyone can create a token and give it a convincing name. Bitcoin's monetary rules and decentralized network are not inherited by a new token simply because it is described as cryptocurrency.

Verify the asset before sending money

Check the exact network, contract, project team, official website, rights-holder relationship and independent technical analysis. A familiar brand name is not proof of authorization.

Test whether you can exit

Liquidity and sellability matter. For unfamiliar assets, a quoted price is not enough; ask whether a normal holder can actually exchange the asset for something of real value.

FOMO is an attack surface

Scammers do not always hack computers. They can hack human judgment by combining a famous story, huge price gains, urgency and the fear of missing out.

Understand counterparty and smart-contract risk

Self-custody cannot protect you from voluntarily buying a fraudulent token whose own rules are designed against you.

Bitcoin itself was not hacked

The SQUID incident did not break Bitcoin, Bitcoin mining, Bitcoin's blockchain or Bitcoin private-key cryptography. It was a separate token scheme operating in the wider crypto ecosystem.

→ Continue to: When People Lost Their Bitcoin — exchanges, fraud, lending failures, weak wallets and lost keys

Evidence and further reading

Sources

Contemporary and first-party sources are preferred where available. External links open in a new tab.

Important disclaimer

Independent educational and historical information

This page is an independent educational history of a reported cryptocurrency scam. It is not financial, investment, legal, tax or cybersecurity advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold Bitcoin, SQUID, BNB or any other digital asset.

This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Netflix, the creators or producers of Squid Game, Binance, PancakeSwap, CoinMarketCap, or the anonymous promoters of the 2021 SQUID token. “Squid Game,” Netflix and other names or marks belong to their respective owners and are referenced here only for identification, commentary and historical discussion.

Historical cryptocurrency prices, losses and amounts taken are approximate and can differ among sources because of rapidly changing prices, blockchain tracing methods and the definition of “loss.” Readers should verify important facts through original and current sources before making financial or security decisions.