Honeypot token
A honeypot token is a token you can buy but cannot sell. Its rules keep buys working so it looks actively traded, but block or confiscate sells. Your funds stay stuck while the deployer keeps the liquidity. Price charts cannot reveal one, because the buys are real.
How honeypots work
Dedaub's explainer describes several mechanisms on EVM chains. These include a hidden check that only lets the deployer sell, an automatic blacklist that flags every buyer, a hook that resets your balance before a swap, and a sell tax fixed at 100%. GMGN's docs add that a very high sell tax, such as 99%, makes a token effectively unsellable.
On Solana, the closest equivalent is an active freeze authority. Solana's docs say a frozen token account cannot transfer or burn tokens until it is thawed. Jupiter lists this as a developer control that can prevent a holder from selling. GMGN's blacklist flag means the same: a listed wallet cannot sell.
Why it is hard to spot
Dedaub notes that price, volume, holder count and a rising chart prove nothing, because honeypots let buys through on purpose. Its recommended checks are reading the contract for different buy and sell rules, and simulating a real sell against the live pool before buying.
Renounced is not a guarantee
GMGN warns that some EVM contracts fake renouncement and can still change code, blacklist traders or turn into a honeypot later. Dedaub adds that a deployer can toggle trading, edit a blacklist or raise the sell tax after launch. A clean scan only reflects the contract at that moment, so re-scan right before trading.
If you are already stuck
Dedaub says getting funds back is almost never possible, and that anyone offering recovery for a fee, or asking you to send more to unlock a balance, is running a second scam. Before buying an unfamiliar token, run it through more than one checker and, on Solana, confirm the freeze authority is revoked.
Where this shows up
- RugCheck — Solana memecoin traders who want a free, quick risk check (authorities, LP locks, insiders, holder concentration) before buying a token.
- GMGN — Multichain memecoin traders who want smart-money tracking and copy trading across a web terminal and Telegram bots.
- Jupiter — Solana traders who want aggregated routing across DEXes with low or zero fees on major and stable pairs.
- Banana Gun — Traders sniping new launches on Ethereum and other EVM chains who also want a Solana bot and a web terminal under one account.
- Maestro — Traders who want one Telegram bot for sniping and copy trading across many EVM chains plus Solana, Tron and TON.
- DEX Screener — Traders who want a free, multi-chain view of new and trending DEX pairs before they trade on a separate DEX, wallet or bot.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- Honeypot Tokens: What They Are & How to Spot Them (Dedaub Tok{In}) — checked 2026-10-16
- CA Security Checks (GMGN docs) — checked 2026-10-16
- Freeze Account (Solana docs) — checked 2026-10-16
- Risks and Limitations, Jupiter Spot (Jupiter docs) — checked 2026-10-16