[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide:how-to-check-a-token-before-you-buy::en":3,"guides-all::en":10},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8,"body":9},"how-to-check-a-token-before-you-buy","How to Check a Token Before You Buy","Six checks you can run yourself on any token, with a block explorer and the contract. None of them require trusting the project's own description.","market-literacy","2026-08-17T16:27:44+00:00","\u003Cp>Anyone can deploy a token, name it whatever they like and publish a website about it. Most of the properties that matter, however, are recorded on-chain and readable by anyone. These are checks you can run yourself, in order, before deciding anything. They will not tell you whether something is a good investment — none of this is about price — but they answer whether you understand what you would be holding and who is able to change it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>1. Get the contract address from the project, not from a search\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The token is the contract address; the name and symbol are labels anyone can copy. Take the address from the project's own documentation or from the chain's official listing, and note which network it belongs to. The same project may use a different address on each chain, and an address that is correct on one network identifies nothing on another.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>2. Check that the source is verified\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>A block explorer will tell you whether the deployed bytecode matches published source code. Verified means anyone can read what the contract does. Unverified means nobody outside the team can, and that alone is a reason to stop. Verification is not an endorsement — it establishes what is running, not that what is running is safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>3. Find the privileged functions\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Establish whether the contract can mint new units, pause transfers, blacklist addresses, take a fee on transfer, or be upgraded to entirely different code. Any of these may be legitimate. All of them mean the rules can change after you buy, so the real question is who holds that power and whether a timelock or a multi-signature arrangement stands between the intention and the change.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>4. Look at how the supply is distributed\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Explorers list the largest holders. Concentration proves nothing by itself: exchange wallets, bridge contracts and staking contracts all appear as large holders and hold on behalf of many people. What you are looking for is whether the top entries can be accounted for. Addresses holding a large share that nobody can explain are a risk you are either taking knowingly or not at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>5. Check that you can sell, not only buy\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Some contracts allow purchases and block or heavily tax sales for everyone outside a permitted list. That is what honeypot describes, and it is a contract behaviour rather than a market condition. It shows up in the transfer logic and in simulation tools, and a very small test sale answers it more directly than any dashboard.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>6. Read the liquidity arrangement\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>On a decentralised exchange, whether you can exit at all depends on a pool that someone funded and may withdraw. Check whether the liquidity position is locked or sits with an address that can remove it at will. A removable pool is the mechanism behind most rug pulls, and it is visible beforehand rather than only afterwards.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>What none of this covers\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>These checks describe the contract, not the people. A contract can be flawless and the team can still walk away from it. And every claim about partnerships, listings and audits sits outside the chain entirely, which means each has to be verified at the source that supposedly issued it.\u003C\u002Fp>",[11,16,21,26,30,35,39,43,47,52,56,57,61,65,69,73,77,81,85,89,93,97,101,105,109,113,117,121,125],{"slug":12,"title":13,"excerpt":14,"topic":7,"updated_at":15},"an-etf-share-or-the-coin-itself","An ETF Share or the Coin Itself","Both track the same price and they are not the same asset. What each one actually makes you own, the three-way choice most people mistake for a two-way one, and which risk you are picking up.","2026-08-18T03:30:02+00:00",{"slug":17,"title":18,"excerpt":19,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"api-keys-and-third-party-trading-tools","API Keys and Third-Party Trading Tools","Bots, trackers and tax tools all ask for exchange API keys. What each permission actually grants, and the one you should almost never hand over.","exchange-safety",{"slug":22,"title":23,"excerpt":24,"topic":25,"updated_at":15},"bridging-crypto-between-chains","Bridging Crypto Between Chains Without Losing It","A bridge is a custody decision dressed up as a transfer. What the three designs actually do with your coin, why bridges are the most attacked component in crypto, and the checks that survive all of them.","wallet-security",{"slug":27,"title":28,"excerpt":29,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"checking-a-crypto-address-before-you-send","How to Check a Crypto Address Before You Send","A crypto transfer cannot be recalled, and the most common way people lose money is sending to an address that was never the one they meant. Here is the check that catches it.",{"slug":31,"title":32,"excerpt":33,"topic":34,"updated_at":8},"crypto-tax-guide","The Crypto Records to Keep Before Tax Time","What you owe is set where you live, and this page does not touch it. What travels between jurisdictions is the record-keeping — and the fact that exchanges are not archives.","tax",{"slug":36,"title":37,"excerpt":38,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets-explained","Custodial vs Non-Custodial Wallets Explained","The single biggest decision in how you hold crypto: who controls the keys, and what that means for security and responsibility.",{"slug":40,"title":41,"excerpt":42,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"exchange-safety-checklist","How to Evaluate a Crypto Exchange's Safety","Before you deposit a dollar, run any exchange through this checklist — proof-of-reserves, custody model, licensing, and security track record.",{"slug":44,"title":45,"excerpt":46,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"hardware-wallets-explained","Hardware Wallets Explained","What a hardware wallet actually protects you from, what it does not, and how to buy and set one up without undoing the point of owning it.",{"slug":48,"title":49,"excerpt":50,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"how-crypto-withdrawals-work","How Crypto Withdrawals Work","Networks, addresses, confirmations and fees — what actually happens when you withdraw crypto, and the mistakes that make it unrecoverable.","crypto-basics",{"slug":53,"title":54,"excerpt":55,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"how-to-buy-bitcoin","How to Buy Bitcoin for the First Time","The purchase takes ten minutes. What takes longer are the four decisions around it: where the coin will live, which venue may legally sell to you, and what the quote really costs.",{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},{"slug":58,"title":59,"excerpt":60,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"how-to-check-an-exchange-licence-claim","How to Check an Exchange Licence Claim","A licence badge in a footer is a claim, not evidence. Four steps to verify it against the register, and what the answer does and does not cover.",{"slug":62,"title":63,"excerpt":64,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"how-to-read-a-crypto-whitepaper","How to Read a Crypto Whitepaper","A whitepaper has no standard, no reviewer and no obligation to stay true. What to read first, what to verify elsewhere, and which sections to skip.",{"slug":66,"title":67,"excerpt":68,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"how-to-spot-a-crypto-scam","How to Spot a Crypto Scam","The patterns behind almost every crypto scam are older than crypto. Learn the five that keep working, and the checks that defuse them.",{"slug":70,"title":71,"excerpt":72,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"how-to-trade-futures","How to Trade Crypto Futures, Starting With the Risk","A perpetual costs you money whether you are right or wrong, and the venue picks the moment your position closes. The numbers to know before the entry, not after it.",{"slug":74,"title":75,"excerpt":76,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"market-cap-and-supply-explained","Market Cap and Supply, Explained","Why a coin's unit price tells you nothing, what market cap actually measures, and the supply figures that quietly change the answer.",{"slug":78,"title":79,"excerpt":80,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"proof-of-reserves-explained","Proof of Reserves Explained","What a proof-of-reserves report actually proves, what it quietly leaves out, and how to read one without mistaking it for a full audit.",{"slug":82,"title":83,"excerpt":84,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"reading-a-block-explorer","How to Read a Block Explorer","A block explorer is the public record every claim about a transaction can be checked against. What the fields mean, and the three things worth verifying yourself.",{"slug":86,"title":87,"excerpt":88,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"seed-phrase-security","How to Store a Seed Phrase Safely","Your recovery phrase is the account. Here is how to back it up so a fire, a flood, a thief or a phishing site cannot take your crypto with it.",{"slug":90,"title":91,"excerpt":92,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"token-approvals-and-how-to-revoke-them","Token Approvals and How to Revoke Them","Most wallet drains are not stolen keys. They are permissions the owner granted once and forgot. Here is what an approval is and how to take it back.",{"slug":94,"title":95,"excerpt":96,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"two-factor-authentication-for-crypto-accounts","Two-Factor Authentication for Crypto Accounts","Not all second factors are equal. Why SMS codes are the weakest option, what a security key does that an app cannot, and what to fix first.",{"slug":98,"title":99,"excerpt":100,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"understanding-crypto-exchange-fees","Understanding Crypto Exchange Fees","Trading fees are the smallest part of what an exchange charges you. Here is where the rest of the cost hides, and how to measure it.",{"slug":102,"title":103,"excerpt":104,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"what-a-smart-contract-audit-proves","What a Smart Contract Audit Does and Does Not Prove","An audit is a review with a scope and a date, not a guarantee. How to read one, and the four things a badge on a website never tells you.",{"slug":106,"title":107,"excerpt":108,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"what-backs-a-stablecoin","What Actually Backs a Stablecoin","A stablecoin is only as stable as whatever stands behind it. The three designs, what an attestation does and does not prove, and the question that matters most.",{"slug":110,"title":111,"excerpt":112,"topic":20,"updated_at":8},"what-happens-when-a-crypto-exchange-fails","What Happens When a Crypto Exchange Fails","If an exchange freezes withdrawals or files for bankruptcy, what actually happens to your balance — and what you can do before that day.",{"slug":114,"title":115,"excerpt":116,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"what-staking-actually-involves","What Staking Actually Involves","Staking is not a savings account. What you commit, what can reduce it, and the difference between doing it yourself and letting a platform do it.",{"slug":118,"title":119,"excerpt":120,"topic":25,"updated_at":8},"what-to-do-if-your-wallet-is-drained","What to Do If Your Wallet Is Drained","The first hour matters, and instinct gives the wrong advice. What can still be saved, what cannot, and why recovery services make it worse.",{"slug":122,"title":123,"excerpt":124,"topic":20,"updated_at":15},"when-an-exchange-freezes-your-withdrawal","When an Exchange Freezes Your Withdrawal","Most frozen withdrawals are a compliance review, not a collapse. How to tell which one you are in, what shortens a hold, and the signals that mean stop waiting.",{"slug":126,"title":127,"excerpt":128,"topic":51,"updated_at":8},"why-a-transaction-is-stuck","Why a Transaction Is Stuck, and What to Do","A pending transaction has not failed and has not happened. Why fees, ordering and nonces leave transactions waiting, and which fixes are real."]