Seven ways a token takes your money

The pull

A Rug pullRug pullThe liquidity is withdrawn from the pool, so the token can no longer be sold for anything. is the blunt version: whoever holds the LP tokensLPLiquidity provider tokens: the receipt for the funds deposited into a pool, and the right to withdraw them. withdraws the pool, and the token becomes unsellable in a single transaction.

A burned or locked pool removes this specific move and nothing else. Check that the LP is actually burnedBurned LPLP tokens sent to an address nobody controls, so the pool can no longer be withdrawn. rather than trusting a badge that says so.

The quiet version

A Soft rugSoft rugNothing is withdrawn and nothing is locked. The team simply sells its supply and stops working, leaving the chart to bleed out. needs no dramatic transaction. The team sells its own supply, stops posting, and the chart bleeds out over hours while the chat argues about whether anything happened.

When the selling is split across many wallets, no single Dev sellDev sellThe creator selling their own allocation, in one exit or in slices across many wallets. looks large enough to flag. It shows up in wallet history, which is why tracking the creator's wallets beats watching the chart.

The one-way door

A HoneypotHoneypotA token you can buy but cannot sell, enforced by token settings or a tax that takes everything on exit. lets money in and not out — through a live Freeze authorityFreeze authorityThe key allowed to freeze token accounts, which stops the holder from transferring or selling., a transfer restriction, or a sell tax that keeps almost everything.

The chart it produces is beautiful, and for the same reason: with no sells possible, there is nothing to print a red candle. Perfect charts and impossible exits are usually the same fact seen from two sides.

One tiny test sell answers this question completely, and it costs a network fee.

The crowd that is one person

A BundleBundleMany buys pushed into the same block from wallets under one owner, usually in the launch block itself. puts many buys from one owner into the launch block, so the token opens looking sought after. The same owner then holds the cheapest supply and needs somebody to sell it to.

The related versions are insiderInsiderA wallet that consistently buys before an event that has not been announced yet. wallets buying ahead of an announcement and farm walletsSybil walletsMany wallets controlled by one person, used to inflate holders, volume and the look of distribution. inflating holder counts. All three make a token look crowded while ownership stays in one hand.

The name that is not theirs

The last group does not need a token at all. A Fake CAFake CAA copy token pushed under a real one's name — in replies, in a hijacked profile, in a pinned message edited after the fact. sells a copy under a real project's name; a DrainerDrainerA site or signature request whose real purpose is to move everything out of the wallet that signs it. asks for one signature on a claim page; a dust tokenDust tokenAn unsolicited token that appears in your wallet, usually named to look like an airdrop or a refund. arrives unrequested and points at the site where selling it costs you the wallet.

Every one of these is defeated by the same two habits: open tokens by address from a source you trust, and read what a signature actually does before approving it.

The seven, in one place

• Rug pull: the pool is withdrawn
• Soft rug: the team sells and walks away
• Honeypot: buys work, sells do not
• Bundle and snipe: one owner opens the token against everyone else
• Insider buying: wallets that are always early to the announcement
• Fake volume and farm wallets: activity with nobody behind it
• Fake contract, drainer, dust token: the loss happens off the chart