Squid Game Crypto Hits 2,400% in One Day

The new Korean-language show "Squid Game" about a dangerous tournament of adults engaging in children's games in the hopes of securing a massive cash prize is a global sensation.

Now, the Netflix show has its very own brand of crypto that has been unveiled with a substantial price run-up.

SQUID is trading at $2.22, up approximately 2,400% over the last 24 hours, and has a market cap of above $174 million.

Still, investors interested to trade in the new coin need to be cautious before jumping into the hype. CoinMarketCap has warned investors over what it calls "multiple reports" that they are not able to sell the token on Pancakeswap, a renowned decentralized exchange. It remains unclear why some investors cannot trade their tokens, even though the white paper illustrates the coin does address an anti-dumping technology that prevents users from selling their coins if specific conditions are not fulfilled.

The coin, which had its presale Oct. 20 and "sold out in 1 second," as expressed in its white paper, joins a list of other spoof cryptos that have seen big run-ups for no specific reason, apart from positive publicity. For instance, the meme-inspired Shiba Inu coin has doubled in price in the last few days.

The squid token was unveiled as the sole coin of the Squid Game project; - a cryptocurrency play-to-earn platform. The online competition, which rolls out in November imitates the six rounds of games featured in the TV show. However, unlike its Netflix equivalent, the firm announced that it will not provide deadly consequences.

Still, unlike the TV series, which offered a grand prize of $38.5 million for the final contestant, this digital simulation of Squid Game will not restrict the top bonus, nor the size of participants.

However, players will have to pay a preset charge in squid tokens for them to participate in each game. Also, and some will require users to buy a personalized NFT, available on the company's website. Some of the NFTs on offer feature characters from the show, including the exact color choice for the players and the guards and black masks covering their faces. At current prices, the gameplay is expensive and investors looking to take part in the final game of the competition will have to pay between $15,000 to $33,450 and buy an NFT.

Entry fees from each of the levels are shared between developers at 10% while the reward pool is 90%.

The Squid Game network also has Marbles Pools — yet another replica of the show — wherein holders can earn tokens via staking, which is putting up their crypto assets as collateral to earn passive profits.

This comes amid a recent string of Squid Game-related malware schemes and scams, as cybercriminals look to entice fans.