The list of scams is long and horrifying to read, but some degenerates truly stand out for their deviousness and ingenuity. That sad lineup includes such wretches as OneCoin, Thodex, PudgyPenguins and the SquidGame Token. This foursome of thieves will be the subject of our today’s review article. Brace yourselves and be ready to dive into a world of crypto gore.
Thodex
This project is the epitome of Turkish crypto delight, founded by one Özer, who took custody of over $2 billion in assets from the users of the Thodex platform. After suddenly shutting down the exchange for what was announced to be just 6 hours, the founder fled Turkey never to be seen again. Unsurprising, considering that he had duped in excess of 100 thousand investors. Still, 60 people were arrested over the case – little consolation for those who lost their money on this scam-of-all-scams.
OneCoin
A long-living scam and self-proclaimed “Bitcoin killer” that managed to stay afloat since 2014, in large part thanks to its founder “Dr.” Ruja Ignatova. This devious lady is still on the run after causing damages in excess of around $4-$14 billion, according to estimates. The project is a banal Ponzi scheme, but one that did earn Ruja a cult following and a luxurious lifestyle all the way up until 2019 when the arrests started.
Pudgy Penguins
The archetype of pump and dump schemes can be embodied by this abomination of a project that rose to the top 156 of PFP projects in the NFT sector by the hot summer of 2021. However, things went awry real soon when a rug-pull tactic was sent into full swing by the founders, resulting in the complete exhaustion of the project’s funds into the wallets of the soon-to-be runaway team. The jig was up in January of 2022 when the drainage had been revealed and the company was proclaimed broke. Just as broke as its community.
SquidGame Token
Something was truly fishy about this project from the start, as it certainly had nothing to do with the artistic prowess of the popular show. After piggybacking (parasitizing) on the Netflix hit, this pump and dump creation disgorged its worthless $SQUID token on PankeSwap and proclaimed itself a Play-to-Earn game project based on the show’s premise. Those who engaged in this profanity were oblivious to the disabled comments in the project’s Telegram channel, the piss-poor White Paper, and the inability to withdraw holdings in originally deposited funds. After reaching $2,800 per coin, the project went bust and made its founders filthy rich.