After rising 75,000 percent, the 'Squid Game' token has gone offline, indicating that the 'scam' is over, according to CoinGecko.
- On Monday, all links to the whitepaper and social media for the "Squid Game"-inspired coin were dead.
- Last week, the token soared as high as 75,000 percent before plummeting to a fraction of a penny.
- Bobby Ong, a creator of CoinGecko, told Insider, "The hoax has completed its cycle."
As purchasers rushed in, a cryptocurrency inspired by the Netflix hit "Squid Game" surged 75,000 percent, but links to its website and social media are now offline, implying that it was a hoax.
Buyers have been reporting that they have been unable to sell their squid tokens and cash out their earnings in the only available venue, the PancakeSwap service, in recent days.
In a user notification, CoinMarketCap stated that it had received various complaints that squid-related websites and social media platforms were no longer operational. Trading was no longer permitted on PancakeSwap, according to Insider, which was also noted by the crypto-data source.
According to the whitepaper for the squid project, the token is a play-to-earn cryptocurrency inspired by a South Korean streaming show in which players compete in activities that can result in riches or death.
The "Squid Game" coin soared in price from roughly $0.01 on Tuesday to around $38 on Sunday, according to CoinMarketCap data. It subsequently rose to almost $90 early Monday, peaked at just over $2,861, and then dropped to $0.003467 at 10 a.m. ET.
Bobby Ong, a creator of CoinGecko, told Insider, "The hoax has completed its cycle, and the price has just dropped considerably."
"The fact that the website and social media profiles have been erased is a clear indication that it is a hoax," Ong added.
On Twitter, some were expressing their worries that the coin was a hoax. They cited various reasons, including the fact that no one knew who the founders were, that Elon Musk made false comments in favour of it, and that CoinGecko was mentioned as a partner, which the company disputed.
The token's issuing document stated, "The more people that join, the higher the reward pool will be," according to a BBC investigation. The initiative also stated that it will prohibit people from selling the token as a "anti-dumping" tool, the report said.
The token providers for the "Squid Game" and PancakeSwap could not be reached for comment.
