Squid Game crypto gains 86,000% in less than a week

A cryptocurrency inspired by Netflix’s hit show Squid Game has exploded among traders, putting Shiba Inu’s rapid rise this week to shame.

In the past seven days, SQUID, a play-to-earn token, has seen gains of 86,249%, as of 3:39 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, the coin was trading at $0.01235. By midafternoon Friday, it was commanding a price of $11.16, according to CoinMarketCap. And it boasted a (self-reported) market capitalization of nearly $5 billion.

In the past 24 hours, the token is up 403%.

The SQUID token can be used only in the Squid Game project, an online game that’s set to start in November. (No lives, the gamemakers pledge, will be sacrificed as part of the game.) Players need to present a certain number to play or to restart the game if they fail. Entry fees range from 650 tokens to 15,000. Of those entry fees in games, 10% is sent to the token’s developers, with the rest making up the award pool for the winner of the game.

Before jumping on this meme crypto, though, know that CoinMarketCap has issued a warning that multiple users have not been able to sell the token.

“We have received multiple reports that users are not able to sell this token in PancakeSwap,” the site wrote. “Please do your own due diligence and exercise caution while trading! This project, while clearly inspired by the Netflix show of the same name, is unlikely to be affiliated with the official IP.”

That’s not slowing down interest as the crypto continues to see gains—and makes Shiba Inu’s recent 777% increase in 30 days a bit less impressive.