Anatomy of a rug pull

A rug pull is when the people who launched a token walk away with the money, leaving holders with a worthless bag. The classic mechanic: the dev holds a huge chunk of supply, or controls the liquidity pool that makes trading possible, and simply pulls it. Price goes to zero in seconds because there's nothing left to trade against.

Watch for the launchpad-era versions too: copycat tickers — a scammer clones a trending token's name and symbol so you buy the wrong contract — and fake "already graduated!" claims; graduation status is public and checkable. Classic signs still apply: unlocked liquidity means nothing stops the dev from walking at any moment, an anonymous wallet holding thirty percent or more of supply, or socials that go quiet overnight.

Before you buy anything, check the holder distribution and the actual contract address. If one or two wallets could tank the price by themselves, you're not investing, you're gambling on their patience.