Squid token, based on popular Netflix show, up over 72,000%
21:00, 29 October 2021
A new cryptocurrency based on the hit Netflix show Squid Game surged in value this week, gaining 72,642.1% since Tuesday’s inception to $8.94 per Squid Token as of late Friday.
The current price for the Squid token is $8.94, up from $0.01229 on 26 October.
A novel combination of online gaming, crypto tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the Squid Game Project allows gamers to participate in up to six virtual game simulations, similar to the popular series’ plotline. Each round consists of 456 players per game, with the winner awarded what are called SQUID tokens as well as unique, tradeable NFTs needed to advance to the next round.
The tokens were launched on 20 October with a presale price of 800,000 SQUID per BNB, according to the Squid Game Project Whitepaper. There is a finite 800 million total supply of Squid tokens. The Whitepaper reports the entire Squid token supply sold out in one second following a 14:30 UTC launch.
“SQUID is the only token used in Squid game,” the game’s instructions note. “You will need SQUID to participate into a game or get [a] restart after you fail the game.”
Playing the game
The entry fees vary from 456 Squid tokens for Level 1 “Red Light, Green Light” up to 15,000 tokens for Level 6 “Squid Game.” Due to the rapid rise in value, the buy-in for Level 1 has gone from the US dollar-equivalent of $5.60 on Tuesday, to $4,076 Friday afternoon, according to CoinMarketCap, which tracks Squid token trades. Based on the late Friday Squid/US$ exchange rate the entry fee for Level 6 is $134,100.
Prizes are winner-take-all and are uncapped – meaning the more players buying in, the larger the prize pool, unlike the $38.5m prize on the programme. The game’s developers collect a 10% skim off the top of the pot.
The game can be found here.
“And therein lies the rub” ~ William Shakespeare
Redeeming Squid tokens, however, requires a separate token, called Marbles token, which are acquired throughout the gameplay, ostensibly by not using violence against your fellow gamers, or through purchase on the BSC Blockchain. Each Marbles Token equals a 2:1 selling credit rate, meaning it takes two Marbles to exchange one Squid.
“Obtaining Marbles without using violence is the key to the Squid game,” the developers noted in the game’s instructions.
Marbles tokens are built on the BSC Blockchain and act as an anti-dumping mechanism boosting the value of Squid tokens. Each time a Marbles token is used to redeem a Squid token, it automatically is burned (deleted), “which means the price of $Marbles will pump,” the instructions added.
Marbles tokens have an initial 21 million supply and launched at $0.009 per token. There is an output of 900,000 Marbles tokens per day. The Marbles token blockchain contract address is here.
Squid redemptions, using Marbles tokens, may only take place on the Pancakeswap exchange for BNB. “You can only choose to swap SQUID for BNB in Pancakeswap,” the instructions added. “Users who add any other liquidity pairs will be punished.”
Popular programme
If you are unaware of Squid Game the programme, it is a South Korean survival drama in which 456 heavily indebted contestants compete in myriad children’s games for the chance to win ₩45.6bn ($38.8m or £28.4m). Television ratings tracker Neilson estimates Squid Game set a streaming viewership record, with 3.26 billion minutes streamed from 27 September through 3 October. Bloomberg estimates Squid Game has generated $891m of impact value for Netflix.
Netflix credited Squid Game as the primary driver of its strong 3Q 2021 subscription numbers, reporting it is the top content on its platform in 94 countries.