The Squid Game-themed SQUID token was a real cryptocurrency project, but it was not officially affiliated with Netflix’s series—and buyers reported that they could not sell it. On Nov. 1, 2021, its quoted price plunged from a reported high of $2,861.80 to $0.0007926 within five minutes, while the project’s liquidity pool was drained. The episode is a warning that a famous name and a rising chart do not prove a token is legitimate or that holders can cash out.
Was the Squid Game crypto coin real or affiliated with Netflix?
SQUID was a token that began trading on PancakeSwap in late October 2021. It used the name and popularity of Netflix’s Squid Game, but it was not an official Netflix token. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao wrote on Nov. 4, 2021, that the claimed Netflix association had been disproven and that buyers had thought the token was connected to the show.
That distinction matters: a token can exist and trade without having any relationship to the brand it invokes. In this case, the theme and widespread coverage gave the project visibility, but neither established authorization or investor protections.
What happened to SQUID in November 2021?
CoinMarketCap’s retrospective reported a launch quote of $0.01, followed by $4.42 after three days and $525 on the morning of Nov. 1, 2021. It reported a peak of $2,861.80 at 9:35 a.m. London time, then a price of $0.0007926 five minutes later. These are historical reported token quotes, not current prices or independently audited investor returns.
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Contemporaneous reports said the developers removed the project’s liquidity. WIRED reported that $3.36 million was withdrawn from the liquidity pool just after 1:38 p.m. UTC on Nov. 1, 2021. CoinMarketCap described the amount as about $3.4 million; that is a rounded account of the same episode, not a separate loss.
Binance said it launched an investigation, planned blockchain analysis and address identification, and intended to share findings with law enforcement. Zhao also said there was little the company could do to recover funds or intervene because the project operated on an open blockchain. The reviewed reporting does not establish a later recovery or final law-enforcement outcome.
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Why couldn’t people sell SQUID?
Buyers reported being unable to sell, and the project’s mechanics made selling conditional. CoinMarketCap described an anti-dumping mechanism and a separate game asset called Marbles. Its account said only holders of Marbles could sell SQUID on the open market, while entry to the first game cost 456 SQUID. That left holders facing either an inability to exit or the risk of putting more SQUID into the game.
The episode also shows why a quoted price is not the same as cash someone can receive. A displayed price says little by itself about whether a holder can place a sell order, how much can be sold, or what price a sale would achieve.
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What is a crypto rug pull?
A rug pull is an exit scam in which a project’s developers abandon it and take investor funds, often by removing liquidity or selling large holdings into a thin market. Binance characterized the SQUID episode as a rug pull.
How the liquidity pool mattered
A decentralized exchange liquidity pool holds paired assets that traders use to swap one token for another. WIRED reported that the SQUID pool paired SQUID with BNB, and that the project team held a large share of SQUID. When the pool’s more valuable paired asset was withdrawn, holders could no longer rely on the chart’s displayed price as an indication that they could sell at that value—or sell at all.
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The SQUID case had an additional obstacle: the reported restrictions on selling. Liquidity loss and conditional selling together made the token especially difficult for holders to exit.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to check a cryptocurrency investment before sending money
No checklist can guarantee that a crypto project is safe. The Federal Trade Commission recommends researching the company and cryptocurrency name alongside terms such as “review,” “scam,” or “complaint.” It also warns against guaranteed returns and big-profit promises, and advises treating crypto payments cautiously because they are usually difficult or impossible to reverse.
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- Verify claimed affiliations. Look for confirmation from the brand itself, rather than relying on a token’s name, a project website, or social posts.
- Check whether selling is actually possible. Look for clear, verifiable information about transfer and sale restrictions, not just a rising chart or claims that a token is tradable.
- Understand liquidity. Ask what assets support trades and whether there is evidence that holders can exit. A quoted token price alone does not establish an available buyer or a realizable sale price.
- Be wary of guaranteed returns and urgency. Promises of assured profits or extraordinary returns are warning signs, not proof of a sound investment.
- Research the name and the project independently. Search for complaints and scam warnings, and compare claims with credible reporting. A large following or media attention does not verify a project.
The FTC reported that consumers in the United States reported losing more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency-related scams from January 2021 through March 2022. Within that period, it identified $575 million in reported losses involving bogus cryptocurrency investment opportunities. Those figures cover broad categories of consumer reports, not losses from SQUID specifically.
Quick Recap
Sources and further reading
- Binance Blog: “Avoiding Cryptocurrency Scams: Squid Game Token and Other DeFi Risks”
- CoinMarketCap Academy: “Binance Investigates Squid Game-Themed Crypto Scam”
- CoinMarketCap Academy: “‘I Lost Everything’: How Squid Game Token Collapsed”
- WIRED: “How a Squid Game Crypto Scam Got Away With Millions”
- Federal Trade Commission: “Spotting cryptocurrency investment scams”
- Federal Trade Commission: “New Analysis Finds Consumers Reported Losing More than $1 Billion in Cryptocurrency to Scams since 2021”
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