How to spot a rug pull on Solana
A rug pull is when the people behind a token take the money and leave the buyers with a token that is worth almost nothing. On Solana most of the signs are on chain, before you buy, if you know where to look.
What to check before you buy
- The creator holds a big part of the supply. On pump.fun the creator's buy is in the creation transaction. A large position can be sold into your buy.
- The creator already sold. If the creator sold what they bought, the exit already happened. Check the sell transaction.
- The same wallet launched many tokens before. A creator who launches and sells again and again is on our serial launchers list.
- Many bots bought in the first seconds. Lots of wallets buying in the first five seconds often means the buyers were planned, not organic.
- A few wallets hold most of the supply. High concentration means a few sellers can crash the price.
- Mint or freeze authority is still active. Then new tokens can be printed or your tokens frozen. On pump.fun these are revoked by default, so this sign matters more on other launches.
What the data says
From May to August we followed 9,170 Solana launches for 30 days and read from the chain what each creator did. Among 2,785 creators who held 1% or more of supply, 89% sold all of it within the first hour, and about half within 30 seconds. Read the study.
What no checker can promise
- Scams change. New tricks, such as side wallets or bundled buys, can be missed until a check is added for them.
- A check cannot know what the creator will do next, or anything off chain.
- A token can change after the check, so run it again before you buy.
Use any checker as one part of your own research. How RugBuster checks.
Do it in one paste
Solana dApp Store
Search RugBuster on a Seeker. Track a token and get a push when the creator sells.
Questions people ask
What is a rug pull in crypto?
A rug pull is when the creators or early holders of a token sell or drain it and leave other buyers holding a token that is worth very little.
How fast do pump.fun creators sell?
In our study of 9,170 Solana launches, 89% of creators who held 1% or more of supply sold all of it within the first hour, and about half within 30 seconds.
Is RugBuster free?
Yes. Checking a token on rugbuster.io, in the Chrome extension and in the phone app is free. Developers can use the API for free for testing and personal use, or pay $0.01 per scan over x402 on Solana.
Does a GOOD verdict mean a token is safe?
No. GOOD means we found no material risk signal in the data we could read at that moment. A token can change after the check, so run it again before you buy, or track it in the app.
Does RugBuster use AI to decide?
No. The verdict comes from named rules read live from the chain. Every answer links its proof on Solscan and lists the checks it could not run.
Last updated 23 October 2026