Many Squid Game tokens emerged after season 2 was released, causing the community to worry about the risk of scams and rug pulls.
After Netflix released the second season of the hit series Squid Game on December 26, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a surge in tokens named after the show. However, this quickly raised alarm bells in the community about the risk of scams and rug pulls – a tactic where developers abruptly withdraw funds, causing the token's value to plummet and investors to lose everything.
Squid Game, the horror film set in chaos, revolves around a brutal survival battle with a huge reward for the winner. But unlike the life-changing opportunities in the film, investing in Squid Game tokens carries the risk of losing all your money.
History repeats itself
Just one day after the release of season 2, on December 27, blockchain security firm PeckShield issued a warning about the increase of suspicious Squid Game tokens. PeckShield stated that these tokens are being widely distributed and particularly noted a token on the Base network, where the address deploying the token is also the holder of the largest amount. This token has lost 99% of its value since its launch. Similar tokens have also been discovered on the Solana network.
Squid Game token on the Solana blockchain. Source: Dexscreener
Even an X account (formerly Twitter) named after the film has promoted the Squid Game token. However, a community member quickly warned users not to invest in this token, pointing out that accounts holding large amounts all showed suspicious signs, implying the possibility of market manipulation and the risk of a sell-off once enough investors are attracted.
This is not the first time this phenomenon has occurred. In 2021, after Squid Game season 1 went viral globally, many tokens with the same name also emerged. One of them skyrocketed in value by over 45,000% before being exposed as a fraudulent project when users could not sell the token on the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap.
CoinMarketCap, a website specializing in tracking cryptocurrency market data, has issued a warning about this token showing signs of a rug pull.
