Every day, more cryptocurrencies are being added to the crypto market. Some of them go on to be very successful, and others fail in the market. In some cases, some fraudulent elements within the crypto industry intentionally launch scam crypto coins to defraud unsuspecting investors of their funds. Since some of the biggest crypto scams have happened through the launch of cryptocurrencies, one needs to be very careful of the type of cryptocurrencies they buy.
You should always do your own research before investing your money in any cryptocurrency. With that in mind, we would share some of the hyped cryptocurrencies that ended up as failures in the crypto industry. Keep reading, as number 5 will surprise you the most.
- GetGems (GEMZ)
This project started as a social messaging application that helped people transfer cryptocurrencies among their contacts. Then those behind the company sought major expansion by launching their own cryptocurrency. They did so, and it was called GetGems (GEMZ). Founded in 2015 by Daniel Peled, those using the app could earn more GetGems (GEMZ) by sending referral links to friends and contacts.
In the process of launching the cryptocurrency, those who were behind the project succeeded in raising up to $1 million through crowdfunding and direct investment. Everyone who was behind the project thought that it was going to become the next big thing in the crypto industry. But things didn't end up the way it was originally planned to be. In fact, the coin's development came to an abrupt halt and made it one of the biggest crypto scams in the industry. After recording a high of $0.0579 in May 2017, according to CoinMarketCap data, the crypto coin stopped trading. There has been no communication from the developers since then.
- Squid Game
Squid Game is a cryptocurrency inspired by the popular South Korean Netflix series, the Squid Game. According to the developers of this project, it was supposed to be a utility token that would be used inside a game they were planning to create. The game was supposed to be play-to-earn, allowing the community to earn rewards. Due to the popularity of the film series, the Squid Game token rode on the waves of its popularity and attracted a lot of investors. People wanted to invest as they considered it profitable.
Starting at $0.04 on 27 October, the token quickly soared to $35 by 31 October. For those who know, this pattern is similar to rug-pull crypto projects, as the developers were looking to make a quick profit. With the massive price increase, more people wanted to invest in the token. It even soared to a peak of $2,856 on 1 November, and then the founders of this token used the opportunity to cash out. The token soon became dead after the whole incident.
- BitConnect (BCC)
BitConnect (BCC) is a cryptocurrency that actually started with the right steps and then went down the ranking order. In fact, during the first year of its launch, it was the highest-performing cryptocurrency on platforms like coinmarketcap.com. Launched in 2016, BitConnect became a fraudulent crypto coin despite getting the attention of investors. The coin even hit an all-time high in 2017, and this further brought more investors who believed the crypto was going to make them very rich.
But the downsides of BitConnect (BCC) quickly started to manifest. Initially, those behind the promotion of the cryptocurrency said investors are guaranteed to be getting not less than 1% returns each day. But that didn't happen, as it was soon revealed that it was a pyramid scheme. The platform soon collapsed after some time, and those who were new investors lost everything. Apparently, those who were behind the project were using the money of new investors to fund their marketing promises.
- Bogged Finance
Bogged Finance failure is quite different from many cryptocurrency failures. The cryptocurrency failed not because the developers wanted to steal investors' funds but because of a malicious attack on the project. When there's a malicious attack, the effect can be so big that it can lead to the end of the project. A single malicious attack on the project led to its end.
With a flash loan-based attack, a cybercriminal could get away with 15 million Bogged Finance tokens. Together with that, they also made away with approximately $3 million of Bogged Finance's liquidity. The developers of this project had made several attempts to revive it, but their community had dispersed. Making the project stay dead.
- OneCoin (ONE)
OneCoin is one of the earliest crypto frauds that happened, and it even dampened the adoption rate of crypto at that time. The owner and founder of this crypto project committed one of the biggest crypto scams ever known in the industry. In fact, most of the scams that happen in the crypto industry now are lesser than the damage that was done here. The founder of this crypto dubbed herself Crypto Queen, but her original name was Ruja Ignatova. She succeeded in hosting a lot of crypto events across the world, convincing investors to put their funds into the project.
There was even one of her shows about crypto that was hosted at the Wembley Arena. Little did the investors know they were investing in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes. She defrauded a whopping $4 billion from those who invested in the project. Before those who invested in this project got wind of what happened, it was already late, as she went into hiding in 2017. The police already issued an arrest warrant for her.