The bull run on cryptos lured many unsuspecting gamblers into a new crypto token named Squid Game. But in a cruel twist of fate, the game rapidly annihilated those involved, with one clear winner scooping a 2,800% payday.
The Squid Game token appears to have launched on October 26, gaining traction on Halloween. By November 1, it started the day around 38$. Four hours later, it had spiked to $2,856, and a few minutes later, it was worthless at $0.00079.
How did Squid Game Token lose its worth?
It seems the seller orchestrated a massive rug pull. Speculators were encouraged to buy, buy, buy, but it was not possible to sell. Then the promoter cashed out, keeping all the gains.
In this sad story, the rug pull wiped out $6 billion in market value within a matter of minutes. And it seems the developers earned themselves a sweet cashed $2.5 million worth of Binance coin tokens. But they carefully hid their transaction details using a protocol called Tornado Cash.
Another example of a Crypto pump and dump?
This is a clear warning to all crypto speculators of just how rapidly the tables can turn. It's a classic story of the "pump and dump," something that more and more crypto traders are becoming all too familiar with.
For every successful token flipper, there are thousands of losers left holding their crypto bags.
Pump and dump schemes are rife in the crypto world. But they don't all go to zero. Some of the more popular meme coins have endured multiple pumps. You only have to look at the price charts to see a massive spike in May, a dramatic fall, followed by a rise again in recent weeks.
#DOGE - The original meme coin went viral across social media and mainstream media earlier in the year. Hyped by Elon Musk, it was a joke coin that made some people very rich.
#SHIB - Shiba Inu is the meme coin to outrank the original meme coin. It's a Doge killer copycat that has soared in recent weeks. It now sports a whopping $38 billion market cap.
#FEG (Feed Every Gorilla) - 50 Cent reportedly encouraged the FEG token rise in May as he repeatedly referred to it when replying to comments on Twitter.
#SAFEMOON - hyped by Bar Stool Sports founder Dave Portnoy this lesser-known token has also wreaked havoc in the meme token markets.
#PIG - Pig Finance claims to be the world's first deflationary token, the first to create the black hole mechanism. The Black Hole rapidly consumes 2% of every buy and sell transaction, increasing scarcity and value.
And the latest meme coin to take a dramatic rise is #FLOKI; buyers beware!
Buying sh*tcoins is not diversifying. It's gambling
As it's the fortunes that make the headlines, it's easy to get sucked into the dream of striking it rich.
It's really no different than playing the lotto or gambling in a casino. Plenty of us are happy to take a punt, knowing we might lose it all. The devastation comes for those that bet their life savings on an internet gimmick.
There are over 10,000 crypto tokens, with new ones popping up every day. Very few will still be here this time next year. Keep things in perspective.
Elon Musk claims only to hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and Doge
Nevertheless, there have also been some notable winners in the cryptosphere. Who are these crypto millionaires and billionaires?
Who are Crypto's billionaires?
Twelve cryptocurrency billionaires made the Forbes' 35th Annual World's Billionaires List in 2021, eight more than in 2020.
These crypto billionaires include:
Tyler Winklevoss
Cameron Winklevoss
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy
Matthew Roszak, chairman, Bloq,
Tim Draper, venture capitalist
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of Alameda Research and derivatives, exchange FTX.
Brian Armstrong, co-founder of exchange Coinbase
Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase
Changpeng Zhao, founder, Binance
Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group
Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple
Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple
Who got rich off Ethereum?
Considered the second-best cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, Ethereum has been enjoying a solid run. But who are the Ethereum millionaires and billionaires?
Well, there are sure to be several, as the coin has been popular for several years now. But the most obvious ETH billionaire would have to be its founder and chief, Vitalik Buterin. The 27-year-old Russian-Canadian genius became the world's youngest billionaire in May.
Did anyone become a millionaire from Dogecoin?
It seems highly likely Elon Musk made a pretty penny from all the Dogecoin pumping he carried out earlier in the year.
Whether it made him millions is not known, but the rampant rally the coin enjoyed is bound to have created a few Doge millionaires.
Indeed, SlumDoge Millionaire Glauber Contessoto started buying Dogecoin in February when it was only 4.5 cents. He continued to hold it through its surge and has been regularly buying the dip ever since. Mainstream investors can't understand why but he believes the number 1 meme coin will eventually prove its worth.
SlumDOGE Millionaire
According to CoinMarketCap, roughly a third of the world's 100 most valuable cryptocurrencies plummeted at least 40% in May. And over a dozen more crashed over 50%.
