What the Owl checks on Ethereum
On Ethereum most rugs are in the contract and the liquidity: a coin you can't sell, a tax the owner can raise, or liquidity that its creator can still pull.
- A sell test and the taxThe Owl tests a buy and a sell: does selling work at all (a honeypot), and what do the buy and sell taxes take.
- Owner powersWhether ownership is renounced, and what the owner could still do: mint, blacklist, pause trading, change the tax.
- Source and upgradesIs the contract's code verified, and is it an upgradeable proxy whose code can be swapped later.
- Who holds the liquidityFor the main Uniswap pool: burned, in a recognised locker, in a wallet or the team's hands (withdrawable), or in some other contract.
- The dev's bag and top holdersHow much the creator still holds, and how much the top 10 hold, pools and lockers left out.
- Bundles and snipersWas the supply grabbed in the first blocks, and do those wallets still hold it.
Free, no account. A check takes about half a minute on Ethereum. Want the grades, the dev's earlier coins and linked wallets too? That's the full scan - how the Owl grades.
Common Ethereum rug pulls
- Honeypots
- You can buy but not sell: the contract blocks sells for everyone but a few wallets. A sell test catches it before you buy.
- Tax traps
- A 'low tax' coin whose owner can raise the sell tax to 50-100% later, so selling returns almost nothing.
- Owner mint and blacklist
- An owner who can print new supply and dump it, or blacklist wallets so they can't sell.
- Liquidity that isn't locked
- The liquidity tokens sit in the creator's wallet, or in a contract that isn't a known locker, and can be pulled at any time.
- Upgradeable proxies
- A proxy contract lets its owner swap in new code after launch - a clean contract today can change tomorrow.
Questions
What does the Ethereum rug checker check?
A sell test and the tax, Owner powers, Source and upgrades, Who holds the liquidity, The dev's bag and top holders, Bundles and snipers. Each check shows what it read, or why it couldn't be read.
Is it free?
Yes - paste a contract, no account needed. A check takes about half a minute on Ethereum.
What is a honeypot on Ethereum?
A token whose contract lets you buy but stops you selling, or takes most of a sale in tax. The Owl tests a buy and a sell before you trade, and show the tax both ways.
What does 'held by a contract, lock not verified' mean?
The pool's liquidity sits in a contract that isn't a locker the Owl recognises - often a launchpad, sometimes a contract its owner can withdraw from. It may be fine, but it isn't a verified lock, so the Owl treats it as unlocked.
Does 'Passed' mean the coin is safe?
No. It means none of the checks found a red flag at that moment. Memecoins are risky, and things change after a check - the dev can sell, liquidity can be pulled. Not financial advice, and not a price call.
Who can see that I checked a coin?
Nobody. Your scans are private. Rug checks are public - the coin gets a public page with the result - but who ran the check is never shown.