A cryptocurrency based on the hit Korean Netflix show 'Squid Game' is up over 60,000 per cent in less than a week, according to media reports. According to CoinMarketCap, SQUID was worth $0.01 cent on Tuesday and rose to $6.27 on Friday morning — a 62,600 percent increase. 'Squid Game's' popularity spread like wildfire since it aired on Netflix last month, reports USA Today.

The show features contestants playing deadly versions of childhood games to win a huge cash prize at the end. The SQUID token follows the same rules as the show and players will go through six online games to win prize money without the deadly consequences. "There is no longer a dystopian world where a mysterious organization gathers people who are in large amounts of debt and 'living on the edge'," the project's white paper said.

"Everyone here in the crypto world can participate in the 'Squid Game' with SQUID tokens or related NFTs in our marketplace," it added. However, as the price continues to surge, so does the price of entering the games. Game 1 had an entry fee of $4.56 or 456 SQUID when the token first launched, but had swelled to over $1,500 by Friday morning. The final game entry cost is over $50,000, as per CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, CoinMarketCap has issued a warning that users are reporting they are unable to sell the token in PancakeSwap — a popular place where people exchange tokens. "This project, while clearly inspired by the Netflix show of the same name, is unlikely to be affiliated with the official IP," it said. (IANS/ MBI)

Keywords: squid game, crypto, surge, wildfire, coinmarketcap, Korean show, webseries.