Every check we run, explained

The same 44 checks run on every token, in the same order. Nothing here is a judgement about a project or the people behind it — each one is a property of the contract or a fact about the market, with the number that triggered it.

Blocking properties

These stop you selling, or let someone take or lock what you hold. On an established token some of them are disclosed issuer powers; on an anonymous one they are the setup for a trap.

• Honeypot: selling is blocked found on 3 tokens · EVM chains The contract lets you buy the token but blocks you from selling it again.
• You cannot sell your whole balance not seen yet · EVM chains The contract refuses a sale of the full balance — you can only ever sell part of what you hold.
• Buying is blocked not seen yet · EVM chains The contract currently rejects purchases from ordinary wallets.
• Transfers can be paused found on 16 tokens · EVM chains The owner can switch off all transfers of the token whenever they choose.
• Hidden owner found on 17 tokens · EVM chains Ownership looks renounced, but the contract keeps a second, concealed address with owner powers.
• Ownership can be taken back not seen yet · EVM chains Ownership was given up, but the contract contains a function that lets it be reclaimed.
• Wallets can be blacklisted found on 9 tokens · EVM chains The owner can add addresses to a list that may no longer trade or transfer the token.
• Trading tax can be changed found on 10 tokens · EVM chains The owner can change the buy or sell tax after you have bought.
• Owner can change balances found on 11 tokens · EVM chains The contract lets the owner edit how many tokens an address holds.
• The creator has deployed honeypots before found on 11 tokens · EVM chains The address that deployed this contract has also deployed tokens that were identified as honeypots.
• Very high sell tax not seen yet · EVM chains Selling costs more than 20% of the amount, taken by the contract.
• Very high buy tax not seen yet · EVM chains Buying costs more than 20% of the amount, taken by the contract.
• Freeze authority is active found on 17 tokens · Solana Someone still holds the authority that can freeze token accounts on Solana.
• Balances can be changed found on 4 tokens · Solana An authority can still alter balances held in token accounts.
• Token accounts can be closed not seen yet · Solana An authority can close token accounts holding this token.
• New accounts start frozen not seen yet · Solana Freshly created token accounts are frozen by default and must be unfrozen one by one.
• The pool number is not a real market found on 6 tokens · all chains The pool reports a large amount of money, but almost nothing is actually traded — a handful of transactions and a few dollars of volume in 24 hours.

Warning signs

None of these blocks a sale on its own. Several together are what tokens look like shortly before they fail.

• The pool holds almost the entire supply found on 121 tokens · all chains The reported liquidity is close to the token's entire fully diluted value.
• Trust marks inside the token name not seen yet · all chains The name or symbol contains characters such as a tick or a verified badge.
• More tokens can be minted found on 69 tokens · all chains The supply is not fixed: an authority can create new tokens at will.
• Contract source is not published found on 9 tokens · EVM chains The contract code has not been verified on the block explorer, so nobody can read what it does.
• Upgradeable contract (proxy) found on 28 tokens · EVM chains The contract is a proxy: the logic behind it can be replaced later.
• Name and metadata can be changed found on 412 tokens · Solana The update authority can still rewrite the token name, symbol and image.
• Transfer fee on every move found on 318 tokens · Solana The token charges a fee on each transfer, held by the token extension.
• Custom transfer hook found on 12 tokens · Solana Every transfer calls custom code before it completes.
• Trading cooldown found on 2 tokens · EVM chains The contract enforces a waiting period between trades for the same wallet.
• Maximum trade size can be changed found on 13 tokens · EVM chains The owner can change the limit on how much can be traded in one transaction.
• Owner holds a large share of supply found on 71 tokens · EVM chains The owner address holds a significant percentage of all tokens.
• Creator holds a large share of supply found on 36 tokens · all chains The deploying address still holds a significant percentage of the supply.
• Supply concentrated in few wallets found on 606 tokens · all chains The largest holders together own a large share of the supply.
• Liquidity is not locked or burned found on 348 tokens · all chains The liquidity pool tokens are held in ordinary wallets rather than locked in a contract or burned.
• Noticeable trading tax found on 3 tokens · EVM chains Buying or selling costs between 5% and 20%, taken by the contract.
• Thin liquidity found on 2,121 tokens · all chains There is little money in the pool backing this token.
• Very new token found on 4,029 tokens · all chains The trading pair was created in the last few days.
• Almost no trading found on 1,073 tokens · all chains There has been little or no trading volume in the last 24 hours.

Things that count in a token's favour

Checks that passed. They lower risk; they do not make a token good.

• Ownership renounced found on 149 tokens · EVM chains The owner address has been set to a dead address, so owner-only functions can no longer be called.
• Mint authority removed found on 3,992 tokens · all chains Nobody can create new tokens: the supply is fixed.
• Liquidity burned or locked found on 116 tokens · all chains The liquidity pool tokens were burned or locked, so the pool cannot simply be withdrawn.
• Contract source published found on 410 tokens · EVM chains The source code is verified on the block explorer and anyone can read it.
• Listed on a centralised exchange found on 51 tokens · all chains The token trades on at least one centralised exchange.
• Deep liquidity found on 313 tokens · all chains The pool backing the token holds a substantial amount of money.
• Held by many wallets found on 151 tokens · all chains The token is held by tens of thousands of separate addresses.
• Real trading volume found on 733 tokens · all chains The token trades a significant amount every day across real transactions.
• Trading for a long time found on 230 tokens · all chains The pair has existed for more than six months.

How these turn into a verdict: the rule is written out here.