SQUID

In October 2021, riding the global hype of Netflix's Squid Game series, the SQUID token launched promising a play-to-earn game based on the show. It had no affiliation with Netflix or the show's creators. The token's smart contract had an "anti-dumping mechanism" that prevented holders from selling — you could only buy. The price skyrocketed from $0.01 to over $2,800 in a week as people bought in but nobody could sell. Then, in a single moment, the developers drained all liquidity and disappeared with an estimated $3.4 million. The price went to zero instantly. It became the purest, most elegant rug pull in crypto history — a token that was literally designed to be a one-way door. Mainstream media covered it extensively, introducing the concept of a "rug pull" to millions of people who'd never heard the term.