Definition and Mechanics
A honeypot in crypto is a smart contract deliberately coded to allow token purchases but disable or block token sales for most—or all—holders. Scammers lure unsuspecting buyers in with promises of high returns or enticing presale discounts. Once enough victims have minted or bought the token:
Vanishing Team: With revenues locked and community controls disabled, the fraudsters disappear, and token value plummets to zero.
Lock‑up Logic: The contract’s transfer or approve functions include hidden conditions that revert (fail) when tokens are sold or transferred back to a liquidity pool.
Liquidity Drain: Scammers seed an initial liquidity pool (often on a DEX like Uniswap or PancakeSwap), then remove that liquidity after the buy pressure stops—leaving buyers unable to exit.
