Flappy Bird's return reportedly related to cryptocurrency world

Flappy Bird, the app that took the smartphone world by storm over a decade ago, announced its alleged “return” a few days ago. The official statement suggested that a group of fans was behind it. However, it seems that there is a shady cryptocurrency-related background behind the new Flappy Bird.

The original dev is not related to the new project

Dong Nguyen, the original game’s developer, removed it from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store during its time for altruistic reasons. He was concerned about the addiction Flappy Bird was causing in millions of people around the world. Now, Nguyen himself has confirmed that he has nothing to do with the game’s alleged return. In fact, the trademark no longer belonged to him. The last post from the developer in X (formerly Twitter) was from 2017, but he returned to clarify the situation.

No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything.
I also don’t support crypto.

— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) September 15, 2024

On September 29, 2023, Gametech Holdings LLC filed a trademark abandonment lawsuit against Nguyen with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). As a result, the company obtained the rights to the trademark for free in mid-January, since the trademark had no use for more than a decade. The team behind the game’s revival, Flappy Bird Foundation, said last week that it had “acquired the rights from Gametech Holdings, LLC.” The fact that the original creator is not receiving any compensation is somewhat disheartening.

Flappy Bird’s return appears to have a shady cryptocurrency-related undertone

Also, it seems that the alleged return of Flappy Bird will actually be an NFT game. There were discoveries about connections between the game and cryptocurrency. The new Flappy Bird account on X followed multiple cryptocurrency-related profiles, according to X user @dusktodusk94. After the uproar, the game’s account removed the following from those profiles, but the damage had already been done.

Plus, Varun Biniwale, a cyber-security researcher, shed more light on the matter. Biniwale’s discoveries show a direct relationship between the new Flappy Bird and the cryptocurrency world. The researcher’s report shows images with mentions of crypto wallets and airdrops. It seems that the game’s monetization environment was designed around the Solana (SOL) cryptocurrency.

In short, the new Flappy Bird seems far from a revival of the original. It appears to be an attempt to use nostalgia as a motivation for a cryptocurrency scheme. Anyway, NFT games typically offer free game modes, so people can try them out. Still, the shady background made it lose any appeal it might have had.