Crypto rug check — smart-contract risk analysis with the Rug Risk Score (0-100).

A rug pull is a type of scam where token creators drain liquidity from a trading pool, exploit contract functions to steal deposited funds, or mint unlimited tokens to dump on buyers. Common rug pull vectors include removable liquidity (no lock), honeypot contracts that prevent selling, hidden transfer taxes above 50%, and mint functions that allow unlimited token creation. Rug pulls are most prevalent on permissionless DEXs where anyone can list a token.

Rug Check supports Ethereum, BSC, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum. Each chain has its own risk patterns — Ethereum and BSC tokens are analyzed for ERC-20 contract vulnerabilities, while Solana tokens are checked for mint authority, freeze authority, and metadata mutability. The analysis adapts to each chain's smart contract model and common exploit patterns.

The risk score aggregates findings from 30+ individual risk checks, each weighted by severity. Critical risks like active honeypot behavior or unlocked liquidity with owner drain capability carry the heaviest weights. The score combines multiple on-chain security feeds with Sharpe's own weighting model. A score below 30 indicates low risk, 30-60 indicates moderate risk requiring caution, and above 60 indicates high risk where trading is not recommended.

Honeypot detection is the process of identifying token contracts that allow buying but prevent or heavily penalize selling. Rug Check performs simulated buy and sell transactions against the contract to test whether sells execute successfully and at what effective tax rate. This catches dynamic restrictions that only activate after a certain number of buys, time-based locks, and conditional fee logic that static analysis cannot detect.

Mint authority is a Solana program permission that allows the designated authority address to create new tokens at will. If mint authority is not revoked, the token creator can inflate supply without limit, diluting all existing holders. Rug Check flags active mint authority as a high-severity risk. Legitimate projects typically revoke mint authority after initial token distribution or transfer it to a governance multisig.

Rug Check performs analysis on-demand when you query a token address. Each check fetches the latest contract state, liquidity data, and holder distribution directly from the blockchain and security APIs. Results reflect the current state at the time of the query rather than cached snapshots, ensuring you always see the most up-to-date risk assessment.

No security tool can guarantee a token is completely safe. Rug Check identifies the most common risk patterns — honeypots, unlocked liquidity, mint authority, dangerous functions, and ownership concentration — but sophisticated exploits, social engineering, and governance attacks may not be detectable through automated analysis alone. The 0-100 score should be one input in your due diligence process, not the sole basis for trading decisions.

Yes. Rug Check is available free on Sharpe Terminal with no account required. All chains, risk patterns, honeypot simulation, and liquidity analysis are accessible immediately. The same security analysis is available through Sharpe's REST API, MCP server, and CLI tool for programmatic integration into trading bots and workflows.

renounceOwnership is a standard OpenZeppelin function that permanently transfers the owner address of an ERC-20 contract to the zero address (0x0000...0000), making privileged functions like mint, pause, or fee adjustment unusable. For EVM tokens on Ethereum, BSC, Base, and Arbitrum, a renounced contract is materially safer because the deployer can no longer exploit admin functions. Rug Check flags whether a contract has been renounced alongside the ownership address so you can verify on-chain directly.

A proxy contract is an upgradeable ERC-20 pattern where the token contract delegates logic to a separate implementation contract that the owner can swap at any time. While proxies enable legitimate upgrades, they also let a malicious owner replace the logic post-launch — introducing transfer restrictions, fees, or mint functions that did not exist at audit time. Rug Check flags proxy contracts as a moderate-to-high risk and surfaces the current implementation address so you can verify whether upgrade authority is held by a multisig or timelock.

A hidden transfer fee is a buy or sell tax coded into a token contract that redirects a percentage of each trade to a developer wallet, burn address, or liquidity pool. Legitimate tax tokens disclose fees in documentation (typically 1-5%), but malicious contracts hide fees of 50-99% or apply them asymmetrically (0% to buy, 99% to sell — a honeypot). Rug Check simulates both directions and reports the effective tax rate so you can distinguish documented fees from hidden exploits.