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What Is a Rug Pull?

A simple explanation of rug pulls and what users should review before trusting a new token.

Risk Awareness5 min read

Beginner-friendly, risk-aware guide

This guide is part of Cogiu starter education and links back to research tools and glossary definitions.

By Cogiu Editorial Team

Published 2026-06-30. Updated 2026-07-09.

Rug pulls explained

A rug pull is a crypto scam where insiders remove support, drain liquidity, exploit contract permissions, or abandon users after attracting attention.

The phrase often refers to liquidity being removed from a trading pool, but the broader idea is the same: users are left holding an asset they cannot reasonably sell or trust.

Signals to review

Research whether liquidity is locked, how long it is locked, who controls pool tokens, and whether the contract owner can change important rules.

Also review top holders, token age, website history, and whether the team has delivered anything beyond marketing.

Why audits are not guarantees

An audit can help identify issues, but it does not remove market risk, team risk, liquidity risk, or future changes outside the audit scope.

Use audits as one piece of evidence, not a reason to stop researching.