Guides

Read it before you sign

1. 01How to read a token contract on EtherscanA practical pass over an Ethereum token page: the address, the verified source, proxy and owner functions, and the holder list. Verification is not a safety rating.
2. 02Anatomy of a honeypot and a sell-blocking contractHow a token can let the buy succeed and then block or ruin the sell, what a simulation actually tries, and when a failed sell is a fee, a pause, or a thin pool.
3. 03Mint, owner, blacklist, and proxy risksWhat those four privileges let a key do after you buy, why the same flags on USDT are not the same flags on a new token, and what renouncing ownership leaves in place.
4. 04Reading liquidity locks and LP burnsWhat a pool is, who can remove it, what a lock expiry and a burn address actually stop, and how the checker treats missing or thin liquidity.
5. 05Revoke token approvals, step by stepWhat an ERC-20 approval and a permit signature allow, how to set the allowance back to zero, and what a revoke does not undo.
6. 06Seed phrase storage, comparedPaper, metal, a hardware device, a passphrase, and split backups. What each one survives, and the copies that are not backups.
7. 07Exchange fee math, with worked tradesMaker, taker, and spread turned into dollars on a $1,000 trade, using the entry rates already cited on the exchange profiles. The simple-buy button is a different price.
8. 08Withdrawal fees and which network to pickThe venue's withdrawal charge and the chain fee are different bills. How to match the network on both sides, and which published figures this site will and will not quote.
9. 09How the token score worksWhat Low, Medium, High, Critical, and Not enough data mean, which public sources fill a row, and which ordinary contracts trip a false do-not-buy.
10. 10A first self-custody walletHow to pick a first hot wallet for the chain you actually use, install it from the vendor, and move a small test before a larger one.
11. 11Hardware wallets, without invented pricesWhat changes when keys stay on a device you confirm by hand, which products are in this set, and which claims this page refuses to invent.
12. 12Lowest published entry feeHow this set is ordered: entry taker fees where an order book publishes one, and a spread where it does not, using figures read on 18 October 2026.
13. 13Comparing US crypto exchangesThere is no single best US exchange in this set. State availability and the button you press are different questions from the fee sort.
14. 14How to choose a walletA way to decide between an exchange balance, a hot wallet, and a hardware wallet without using a star rating.
15. 15How exchange fees workMaker, taker, and spread, with the entry rates copied onto the profiles on 18 October 2026, and why the simple-buy button is a different price.
16. 16Common crypto scamsThe pitches that end in a signature, a seed phrase, or a deposit to a stranger, and the pages on this site that take each shape one at a time.
17. 17Rug pullsLiquidity that leaves, sells that revert, and mints that inflate a pool, and which checker rows speak to each one.
18. 18Address poisoningHow a lookalike transfer lands in your history, how to compare an address before you send, and what to do if a real balance already moved.
19. 19Fake airdropsHow to tell a token that is already in the account from a claim site that wants a signature, and when to leave an unknown balance alone.
20. 20Wallet drainersWhat a drainer asks a wallet to sign, how an approval differs from a send, and what to do after a signature you did not mean.
21. 21SMS codes, authenticator apps, and passkeysHow a code sent to your phone number differs from an authenticator app, a security key, and a passkey, and what changes when a carrier moves the number.
22. 22How to check a crypto site addressHow to read the domain in the address bar before you connect a wallet or type a password, and why the padlock does not name the site.
23. 23Exchange balances and self-custodyWhat an exchange can do with coins it holds, what a wallet you control cannot undo, and how to move a balance from one to the other without guessing a fee.
24. 24Set up a hardware walletThe order to generate a recovery phrase, write it down, confirm a receive address on the device, and move a first withdrawal. Seedless cards use a different backup.
25. 25How to read a proof of reservesWhat a Merkle tree, a signed wallet, and an attestation each show, and which questions they leave open. This page does not grade any exchange.
26. 26Solana rug patternsMint authority, freeze authority, mutable metadata, and liquidity that leaves the pool, and which of those the checker actually flags on a Solana mint.