Squid Games (SQUID Token)
Summary
SQUID was a BEP-20 token on the Binance Smart Chain launched in late October 2021 that exploited the viral popularity of the Netflix series 'Squid Game.' On November 1, 2021, anonymous developers executed a rug pull, draining at least $3.38 million in liquidity and abandoning the project, causing the token price to collapse from a peak of $2,861.80 to effectively zero within minutes. More than 43,000 investors suffered losses, with no arrests made and the perpetrators remaining unidentified as of mid-2026.
Connected Entities
2 entities- + 2 more
Timeline(11 events)
2021-10-20
SQUID token presale begins on Binance Smart Chain.
2021-10-26
Token goes live; CoinDesk reports 35,000% price increase in three days. CoinTelegraph and Finbold flag user inability to sell.
2021-10-28
CNBC reports the token's 2,400% single-day surge; Netflix confirms no affiliation with the project.
2021-10-29
CoinMarketCap adds warning label noting reports that users cannot sell their tokens.
2021-11-01
Rug pull executed. Token peaks at $2,861.80 at approximately 9:35 AM UTC then collapses to near-zero by 9:40 AM. Developers drain liquidity on PancakeSwap and DODO. 55 deposits made into Tornado Cash. Project website, Twitter, and Telegram go offline. Developers post farewell message claiming stress and alleged hacking attempt.
2021-11-02
Washington Post, CBS News, Gizmodo, and other major outlets confirm the rug pull. Initial estimates of $3.38 million stolen.
2021-11-03
Binance officially announces investigation, designates SQUID a scam, and commits to sharing findings with law enforcement.
2021-11-04
Binance blacklists developer-linked addresses. TRM Labs begins on-chain forensic tracing of stolen funds across BSC and Ethereum.
2022-01-01
TRM Labs publishes detailed blockchain forensic analysis estimating total scheme value at 35,025 BNB (~USD 19.3M). Scammers remain unidentified.
2022-06-01
Investigative journalists trace leads to Hong Kong apartment; learn local police had already visited the location ~6 months prior. No arrests confirmed.
2024-12-27
Launch of Netflix Squid Game Season 2 triggers new wave of SQUID copycat scam tokens on Base, Solana, and Ethereum. One Base-chain token collapses 99% within hours.
Decision Log
- hash: C4AcyNZEL4DzZunKNTMm14X796rNEjoX9k7B7oB5D6cz
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:53 AM
last updated: 5/28/2026, 6:37:15 PM
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