Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Squid Game Coin & Other Crypto Scams That Left Millions of Investors Stone Broke

Squid Game Coin & Other Crypto Scams That Left Millions of Investors Stone Broke

Cryptocurrency is usually a volatile investment environment with no guarantees but the promise of impressive returns has seen scores of people trusting flimsy schemes that can disappear in the blink of an eye.

Crypto experts tend to warn the newbies in the game against trusting anyone on social media positioning themselves as a crypto trader. Anyone who asks for payment in cryptocurrency online or via ATM is also a red flag.

Investors are encouraged to be aware of anyone trying to pressure them to invest immediately on the website of the product or app to double their money in a matter of days or weeks.

The cryptomarket follows the newest global developments and trends, with a prime example being the creation of the Squid Game crypto token, launched after the success of the Korean TV series, Squid Game.


Those behind complex and convoluted Ponzi schemes can be persuasive, making investors part with thousands of dollars in no time.

The Squid Game coin turned out to be a scam, collapsing shortly after its launch and leaving many out of pocket.

Some of the loudest scam cases have robbed investors all over the world of millions.

Bitconnect


One of the biggest scams to date has been the open-source cryptocurrency BitConnect, launched in February 2016 by Satish Kumbhani. BitConnect presented itself as a cryptocurrency lending platform, where Bitcoin could be exchanged for the BitConnect coin. What was initially positioned as an open-source cryptocurrency with a guaranty of 40 percent return for investors, turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.

BitConnect cost its investors around $3.45 billion after it shut down in 2017, following warnings and cease and desist orders by UK and US regulators.

OneCoin


Another Ponzi scheme – whose founders and leadership are now serving or facing a total maximum sentence of 90 years in prison – is OneCoin. The scheme, which has been reported to rob investors all over the world of £4 billion ($4.9 billion), was founded by a Bulgarian businesswoman Ruja Ignatova, who disappeared in 2017 and hasn’t been seen since. OneCoin was actually not a decentralised cryptocurrency but rather a centralised currency hosted on OneCoin Ltd's servers.

Owners of OneCoin could exchange it for any other currency at OneCoin Exchange, xcoinx, an internal marketplace for members who had invested more than just a starter package.

Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in March 2019. One of OneCoin co-founders, Sebastian Greenwood, was extradited to the US in November 2018.

Despite the shutdown and the charges against its founders, the Bulgarian-based organisation behind OneCoin Ltd continues to operate and denies all wrongdoing.

Pincoin


An ICO launched by a Vietnamese cryptocurrency company Modern Tech, Pincoin has raised more than $600 million from approximately 32,000 people.

Investors in Pincoin were promised constant returns and rather than being paid back in cash, they would receive a new token called iFan.

The Pincoin team were paying out rewards to investors in iFan tokens, until they disappeared in April 2018. The same year, Vietnamese authorities asked local ministries and the police to investigate Pincoin.

ACChain


In 2018, another company raised millions of dollars through its investors' three ventures, which were never realised. Investors of the Chinese company Shenzhen Puyin Blockchain lost $60 million as the company’s ICO’s – ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain – failed to materialise.

Shenzhen authorities have since arrested six suspects involved in the fraud.

Bitclub Network

Good salesmanship and marketing won another Ponzi scheme – BitClub Network – more than $700 million.

The US Department of Justice has filed a case against people behind the “fraudulent scheme that solicited money from investors in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and rewarded investors for recruiting new investors into the scheme.”

Matthew Brent Goettsche, Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, and Silviu Catalin Balaci were conspiring, according to the US government, to solicit investment in BitClub Network through fraudulent means, including by providing false and misleading figures that BitClub investors were told were “bitcoin mining earnings” purportedly generated by BitClub Network’s bitcoin mining pool.

Monday saw the worth of the world cryptocurrency market reach more than $3 trillion for the first time, with Bitcoin hitting above $66,000 and Ethereum – $4,768.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×