{"investigation":{"slug":"squid-games","entity_name":"Squid Games (SQUID Token)","trust_score":0,"severity_base":0,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.95,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"SQUID was a BEP-20 token on the Binance Smart Chain launched in late October 2021 that exploited the popularity of the Netflix series 'Squid Game'. Its contract allegedly let only the deployer sell; on November 1, 2021 the anonymous developers drained about $3.38 million of liquidity and abandoned the project, with the price falling from about $2,861 to near zero within minutes and more than 43,000 investors affected. TRM Labs linked the operators to further rug pulls totalling about $19.3 million; no arrests or identifications had been reported as of mid-2026.","sections":[{"content":"SQUID was a BEP-20 token deployed on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) in late October 2021 by anonymous developers, capitalising on the Netflix series 'Squid Game' (the platform's most-watched show in September 2021). The token presale began around October 20, 2021 and it traded on PancakeSwap from approximately October 20 to 26, 2021 at about $0.01 per token (CBS News records the launch date as October 26). The website and whitepaper falsely promoted a play-to-earn game inspired by the show, with six online mini-games including Red Light Green Light and the Glass Bridge, none of which were ever developed. The whitepaper had numerous spelling and grammatical errors, and the website was registered less than a month before launch. It made unverified claims of partnerships with Netflix and Microsoft, both of which denied any affiliation; Netflix told CNBC it had no connection. CoinMarketCap flagged the token as 'unlikely to be affiliated with the official IP'. The developers were anonymous throughout, and no founders, developers or advisors were named.","heading":"Project origin and background","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/squid-game-cryptocurrency-up-nearly-2400percent-in-the-last-24-hours.html","name":"cnbc.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/binance-investigates-squid-game-themed-crypto-scam","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/how-bsc-project-used-netflixs-squid-game-scam-investors/","name":"cryptobriefing.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/267303/20211029/squid-game-cryptocurrency-researchers-say-obvious-scam.htm","name":"techtimes.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/01/squid-game-token-crashes-developers-say-theyve-left-the-project","name":"Squid Game Token Crashes; Developers Say They've Left the Project — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://invezz.com/news/2021/10/29/5-key-highlights-from-squid-game-tokens-whitepaper/","name":"invezz.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/academy/squid-game-crypto-sc","name":"Squid Game Crypto Scam: How the 2021 Rug Pull Changed Exchange Security — Bitget Academy","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"The SQUID smart contract contained a concealed mechanism preventing ordinary holders from selling. The whitepaper called it an 'anti-dump mechanism', saying that buying tokens 'releases selling credits at a rate of 2:1', so at most half of buy volume could be sold. Security researchers identified two embedded functions: one giving the deployer exclusive permission to drain funds from linked liquidity pools, and one preventing any address other than the deployer's from selling on PancakeSwap. Users attempting to sell found their transactions rejected. A secondary token, 'Marbles' (MARBLE), was presented as the in-game currency and as a prerequisite to unlock selling: holders were told they could burn five Marbles to sell one SQUID, but Marbles were priced higher than SQUID, making exit economically irrational, and the ratio reportedly worsened to 20 Marbles per SQUID. The Marbles requirement could not be fulfilled because the games that would have distributed MARBLE were never built. TRM Labs concluded that 'the contracts were coded in such a manner that selling the token was not practically possible for anyone other than the scammers', and FTI Consulting's forensic analysis of the source code corroborated that the sell function was reserved for the developers. CoinTelegraph and Finbold reported the inability to sell while the token was still trading.","heading":"Anti-sell mechanism","sources":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/users-not-able-to-sell-squid-game-token-clocking-45-000-gains","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://finbold.com/warning-multiple-squid-game-token-investors-reportedly-cant-sell-squid/","name":"finbold.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/squid-game-token-jumps-40000-meme-coin-mania/","name":"cryptobriefing.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://invezz.com/news/2021/10/29/5-key-highlights-from-squid-game-tokens-whitepaper/","name":"invezz.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/on-the-trail-of-the-squid-game-scammers","name":"trmlabs.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.fticonsulting.com/insights/articles/squid-game-blockchain","name":"Squid Game on the Blockchain — FTI Consulting","type":"on_chain","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"At about 9:35 UTC on November 1, 2021 (5:35 AM ET), SQUID reached an all-time high of about $2,861 and then collapsed to near zero within about five minutes, a decline of roughly 99.9999%. Per CoinMarketCap the price had risen from $0.01 at launch to $38 by 6:00 AM, $90 by 7:00, $181 by 8:00 and $523 by 9:00 before the peak. The developers drained liquidity from PancakeSwap (and, per one page, DODO), converting their SQUID to Wrapped BNB and then BNB for proceeds of about $3.38 million. The website, Telegram channel and Medium blog were taken offline and Twitter restricted or flagged the project account. A final Telegram message said 'Squid Game Dev does not want to continue running the project as we are depressed from the scammers and is overwhelmed with stress', and separately alleged that 'someone is trying to hack our project'. At least 43,000 investors held SQUID at collapse, with losses; for example one victim bought 5,000 SQUID at $1 each, and another's $57 stake briefly showed a paper value of $14,000 but could not be sold. Because BSC is permissionless, no central authority could freeze funds.","heading":"The November 1, 2021 rug pull","sources":[{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/i-lost-everything-how-squid-game-token-collapsed","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/squid-game-cryptocurrency-rug-pull-scam/","name":"cbsnews.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://gizmodo.com/squid-game-cryptocurrency-scammers-make-off-with-2-1-m-1847972824","name":"gizmodo.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/twitter-flags-squid-game-token-accounts-as-price-crashes","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/squid-game-crypto-creators-steal-millions-in-rug-pull.-heres-how-to-avoid-scams-2021-11-03","name":"nasdaq.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/game-over-squid-game-inspired-crypto-scam-collapses-as-price-crashes-from-2-8k-to-zero","name":"Game Over: Squid Game-Inspired Crypto Scam Collapses — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/11/23794410/squid-game-token-price-crashes-from-2-800-to-zero-minutes-after-twitter-restricts-official","name":"Squid Game Token Price Crashes From $2,800 to Zero — Benzinga","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/01/squid-game-token-crashes-developers-say-theyve-left-the-project","name":"Squid Game Token Crashes; Developers Say They've Left the Project — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Initial estimates placed the funds extracted at about $3.38 million. TRM Labs' forensics concluded that the three connected scams attributed to the same perpetrators together obtained at least 35,025 BNB (about USD 19.3 million at November 2021 prices), so the SQUID rug pull appears part of a larger operation; the difference between the two figures reflects different scopes. The proceeds went from SQUID to WBNB to BNB, and on November 1, 2021 alone the perpetrators made 55 deposits into Tornado Cash, consolidated the funds into a single address and bridged to Ethereum. Roughly 2,693 ETH (about USD 11.1 million) then passed through high-risk VASPs with minimal KYC and the Compound lending protocol. TRM noted the scammers made 'apparent mistakes while using mixing services and exhibited consistent patterns of behavior' that may offer forensic leads, but concluded that the clues 'have proved insufficient to identify the culprits or reunite victims with their funds'. FTI Consulting's visualisation showed over 1,039 direct and indirect connections in the token's transaction graph. No funds were publicly confirmed seized or returned, and no civil or criminal recovery action had been announced.","heading":"Financial losses and fund laundering","sources":[{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/on-the-trail-of-the-squid-game-scammers","name":"trmlabs.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/squid-game-cryptocurrency-squid-crashed-on-monday-in-an-apparent-scam-investors-lose-millions-of-dollars/","name":"heimdalsecurity.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/i-lost-everything-how-squid-game-token-collapsed","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.verified.org/articles/news/squid-game-cryptocurrency-scam","name":"verified.org","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/03/binance-is-investigating-squid-game-token-considers-it-a-scam-report","name":"coindesk.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://gizmodo.com/binance-is-now-investigating-the-squid-game-crypto-scam-1847998199","name":"gizmodo.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/85276/binance-says-trying-find-scammers-behind-squid-game-token","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.fticonsulting.com/insights/articles/squid-game-blockchain","name":"Squid Game on the Blockchain — FTI Consulting","type":"on_chain","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Binance announced on about November 3, 2021 that it was investigating the SQUID scam and considered it a fraud, confirmed the use of Tornado Cash, said it would blacklist developer-linked addresses and shared findings with law enforcement. CoinMarketCap had added warning labels before the collapse. No SEC, CFTC or DOJ action against an identified individual has been publicly filed. The developers remain unidentified: journalist Janhoi McGregor and tech expert Ciaran O'Connor, in the podcast 'Squid Scam: Chasing the NFT Con Artists', traced leads to Hong Kong and visited an apartment linked to an alleged perpetrator, finding that local police had visited about six months earlier. No arrests or confirmed identifications had been publicly reported as of mid-2026, and the identities behind the deployment address 0x87230146e138d3f296a9a77e497a2a83012e9bc5 remain unattributed.","heading":"Exchange response, perpetrators and investigation","sources":[{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/03/binance-is-investigating-squid-game-token-considers-it-a-scam-report","name":"coindesk.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://gizmodo.com/binance-is-now-investigating-the-squid-game-crypto-scam-1847998199","name":"gizmodo.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/binance-investigates-squid-game-themed-crypto-scam","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/85276/binance-says-trying-find-scammers-behind-squid-game-token","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://finbold.com/just-in-squid-game-crypto-token-scammer-tracked-down/","name":"finbold.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptotips.eu/en/news/squid-game-token-scammers-found-in-hong-kong/","name":"cryptotips.eu","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/on-the-trail-of-the-squid-game-scammers","name":"trmlabs.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://bscscan.com/token/0x87230146e138d3f296a9a77e497a2a83012e9bc5","name":"bscscan.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/squid-game-cryptocurrency-rug-pull-scam/","name":"cbsnews.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Red flags identified before the rug pull were: an anonymous team; a whitepaper with spelling and grammar errors; false Netflix and Microsoft partnership claims; a price rise of over 300,000% in under a week; user reports of inability to sell (CoinTelegraph, Finbold); the prohibitive Marbles requirement; and CoinMarketCap's public warning, which said 'There is growing evidence that this project has been rugged' and displayed red triangles because it could not verify market capitalisation. Major outlets including BBC, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider and Fortune reported the extraordinary gains largely without highlighting the documented sell restriction, and investors such as Craig Tinker, who invested $300, said the coverage gave false reassurance. NBC News reported investors citing mainstream attention as reassurance. Nasdaq and Motley Fool later published investor-education articles citing SQUID as a case study.","heading":"Pre-collapse warning signs and media coverage","sources":[{"url":"https://bitcoinist.com/got-rekt-on-squid-game-here-are-the-warning-signs-you-missed-ignored/","name":"bitcoinist.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/users-not-able-to-sell-squid-game-token-clocking-45-000-gains","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/267303/20211029/squid-game-cryptocurrency-researchers-say-obvious-scam.htm","name":"techtimes.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/squid-game-crypto-collapse-pushes-investors-cry-scam-rcna4399","name":"nbcnews.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/binance-investigates-squid-game-themed-crypto-scam","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://finbold.com/warning-multiple-squid-game-token-investors-reportedly-cant-sell-squid/","name":"finbold.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2021/11/01/squid-game-crypto-collapse-scam/","name":"Squid Game Crypto Loses Virtually All Its Value Overnight — Fortune","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.koimoi.com/korean/how-squid-games-global-fame-sparked-a-fake-token-worth-millions/","name":"How Squid Game's Global Fame Sparked a Scam That Duped Investors with a Fake Token Worth Millions — Koimoi","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/squid-game-crypto-creators-steal-millions-in-rug-pull.-heres-how-to-avoid-scams-2021-11-03","name":"nasdaq.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"SQUID is one of the most prominent crypto scams of 2021 and is cited in academic and industry literature as an example of the 'anti-dump' contract exploit class. TRM Labs reported that the December 2024 launch of Netflix's 'Squid Game' Season 2 triggered a new wave of SQUID-branded copycat scams on Solana, Ethereum and Base; one Base token, deployed by a deployer-controlled wallet, fell 99% within three hours. CoinTelegraph reported multiple SQUID-branded tokens raising red flags. As of 2025 a separate project reused the SQUID Game Token branding; Finbold warned it is unaffiliated with the 2021 scam but carries its own risks.","heading":"Copycat scams and legacy","sources":[{"url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/squid-game-season-2-a-window-into-popular-culture-and-crypto-scams","name":"trmlabs.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/squid-game-tokens-scam-alert-2024","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560604456335","name":"bitget.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/12/27/squid-game-lovers-got-scammed-as-fake-token-drops-99/","name":"cryptotimes.io","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/@losslesscash/squid-rug-pull-another-case-study-to-justify-the-need-for-on-chain-security-fd4f5ed45b50","name":"medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://finbold.com/caution-new-squid-game-token-emerges-after-2021-rug-pull/","name":"Caution: New SQUID Game Token Emerges After 2021 Rug Pull — Finbold","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-10","event":"SQUID token presale begins; token deployed on Binance Smart Chain and begins trading on PancakeSwap at about $0.01 per token.","source":"Squid Game Crypto Scam: How the 2021 Rug Pull Changed Exchange Security — Bitget Academy","source_url":"https://www.bitget.com/academy/squid-game-crypto-sc"},{"date":"2021-10","event":"Token goes live per CBS News and CoinDesk reports 35,000% price increase in three days; CoinTelegraph and Finbold flag user inability to sell.","source":"cbsnews.com","source_url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/squid-game-cryptocurrency-rug-pull-scam/"},{"date":"2021-10","event":"CNBC reports the token's 2,400% single-day surge; Netflix confirms no affiliation with the project.","source":"cnbc.com","source_url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/squid-game-cryptocurrency-up-nearly-2400percent-in-the-last-24-hours.html"},{"date":"2021-10","event":"Invezz publishes analysis of the whitepaper highlighting the Marbles prerequisite for selling and the six promised but unbuilt games; CoinMarketCap adds warning label noting users cannot sell.","source":"invezz.com","source_url":"https://invezz.com/news/2021/10/29/5-key-highlights-from-squid-game-tokens-whitepaper/"},{"date":"2021-10","event":"CoinTelegraph reports multiple users are unable to sell despite gains of over 45,000%; CoinMarketCap appends an investor caution warning.","source":"cointelegraph.com","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/users-not-able-to-sell-squid-game-token-clocking-45-000-gains"},{"date":"2021-10","event":"Mainstream outlets including BBC, CNBC, Fortune and Yahoo Finance run stories on the token's price gains with limited coverage of the sell restriction.","source":"Squid Game Crypto Loses Virtually All Its Value Overnight — Fortune","source_url":"https://fortune.com/2021/11/01/squid-game-crypto-collapse-scam/"},{"date":"2021-11","event":"Rug pull: at about 09:35 UTC on November 1 SQUID peaks at about $2,861 then collapses to near zero by 09:40 as developers drain liquidity; website, Telegram, Medium blog and Twitter go offline or are restricted; developers post farewell message. 55 deposits are made into Tornado Cash that day.","source":"Game Over: Squid Game-Inspired Crypto Scam Collapses — CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/game-over-squid-game-inspired-crypto-scam-collapses-as-price-crashes-from-2-8k-to-zero"},{"date":"2021-11","event":"Washington Post, CBS News, NBC News, Gizmodo and other outlets confirm the rug pull; estimated victims exceed 43,000 and initial estimate of stolen funds is $3.38 million.","source":"gizmodo.com","source_url":"https://gizmodo.com/squid-game-cryptocurrency-scammers-make-off-with-2-1-m-1847972824"},{"date":"2021-11","event":"Binance publicly announces investigation, designates SQUID a scam, and commits to sharing findings with law enforcement.","source":"coindesk.com","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/11/03/binance-is-investigating-squid-game-token-considers-it-a-scam-report"},{"date":"2021-11","event":"Binance blacklists developer-linked addresses; TRM Labs begins on-chain forensic tracing of funds across BSC and Ethereum.","source":""},{"date":"2022","event":"TRM Labs publishes forensic analysis linking SQUID operators to two additional rug pulls and estimating total scheme value at 35,025 BNB (about USD 19.3M); scammers remain unidentified.","source":"trmlabs.com","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/on-the-trail-of-the-squid-game-scammers"},{"date":"2022-06","event":"Investigative journalists trace leads to a Hong Kong apartment and learn local police had visited about six months earlier; no arrests confirmed.","source":""},{"date":"2024-12","event":"Launch of Netflix Squid Game Season 2 triggers a new wave of SQUID copycat scam tokens on Base, Solana and Ethereum; one Base-chain token collapses 99% within hours.","source":"trmlabs.com","source_url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/squid-game-season-2-a-window-into-popular-culture-and-crypto-scams"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/squid-game-cryptocurrency-up-nearly-2400percent-in-the-last-24-hours.html","name":"cnbc.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260825001026/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/squid-game-cryptocurrency-up-nearly-2400percent-in-the-last-24-hours.html","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-25T00:10:26+00:00"},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/binance-investigates-squid-game-themed-crypto-scam","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260317063253/https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/binance-investigates-squid-game-themed-crypto-scam","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-03-17T06:32:53+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/how-bsc-project-used-netflixs-squid-game-scam-investors/","name":"cryptobriefing.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260218221651/https://cryptobriefing.com/how-bsc-project-used-netflixs-squid-game-scam-investors/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-02-18T22:16:51+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/267303/20211029/squid-game-cryptocurrency-researchers-say-obvious-scam.htm","name":"techtimes.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260119172938/https://www.techtimes.com/articles/267303/20211029/squid-game-cryptocurrency-researchers-say-obvious-scam.htm","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-01-19T17:29:38+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/01/squid-game-token-crashes-developers-say-theyve-left-the-project","name":"Squid Game Token Crashes; Developers Say They've Left the Project — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260725154214/https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/11/01/squid-game-token-crashes-developers-say-theyve-left-the-project","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-25T15:42:14+00:00"},{"url":"https://invezz.com/news/2021/10/29/5-key-highlights-from-squid-game-tokens-whitepaper/","name":"invezz.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261008172606/https://invezz.com/news/2021/10/29/5-key-highlights-from-squid-game-tokens-whitepaper/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-08T17:26:06+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/academy/squid-game-crypto-sc","name":"Squid Game Crypto Scam: How the 2021 Rug Pull Changed Exchange Security — Bitget 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