What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?
In this section, we’re going to cover what is a rug pull, in crypto!
Imagine that, one day, while browsing Reddit, you’ve stumbled upon a brand new crypto project - somebody made a post about a token that was just launched a few hours ago. It looks great, and there are multiple people commenting on how it will surely “go to the moon”!
Inspired by all these comments and not wanting to miss out on a potentially great investment opportunity, you decided to go all-in, and invest your savings into the token. While you went to bed seeing your investment increasing tenfold, the next morning, you wake up to see that your new tokens are now worth but a few cents. This is often what a classic rug pull looks like.
In this section, we are talking about rug pulls. I’ll explain the concept of what a rug pull is, in crypto, and give you a few examples of what classic rug pulls look like! In the end, I’ll also tell you what to look out for, when you suspect that a project might be a future rug pull.
Let’s get to it!
![What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples) What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples)](https://assets.bitdegree.org/crypto/assets/images/compare-crypto-exchanges.gif)
Video Explainer
Video Explainer: What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?
Reading is not your thing? Watch the "What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?" video explainer
What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples)
![What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples) What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples)](https://assets.bitdegree.org/youtube/crypto-finally-explained/what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto-meaning-examples.jpg?tr=w-420 500w,
https://assets.bitdegree.org/youtube/crypto-finally-explained/what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto-meaning-examples.jpg?tr=w-760 1000w)
![What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples)](https://assets.bitdegree.org/crypto/assets/video-button.png?tr=w-85)
What is a Rug Pull?
So, what is a rug pull in the world of crypto, exactly?
Well, to put it in one word, it’s theft - literal theft. However, the definition of the term is also rather simple - it’s when the developers or project owners run away with people’s investments. A typical example of a rug pull would be that which I’ve mentioned in the introductory part of this section.
Say, you’ve bought $100 worth of a token called “DefinitelyNotARugPull”. It’s a brand new project, but you’ve noticed that it has a lot of hype surrounding it, already - Reddit comments, Tweets, likes and upvotes, and so on. They even have a flashy and functional website!
All of these things can be used to lure unsuspecting investors into a trap. Once you bite the bullet and actually buy $100 worth of this new token, its price may rise for the first few hours or days, sure. This is just the period when the developers are generating hype, and trying to get as many people to buy in as possible.
After those initial few days, however, your funds could be gone in a matter of minutes - in other words, you might get rug pulled. There are actually a few ways of how this would look like, so let’s explore the most popular methods of rug pulling, shall we?
Developers Selling their Tokens
Undoubtedly the most common method of how rug pulls are executed is by developers or companies behind the project dumping their own tokens into the market, thus crashing the price of the token. Allow me to elaborate on this.
When developers create a project, they also set things such as total token supply, and initial token allocation. Meaning, they can give themselves any number of tokens that they’d like - in many cases, developers do that. Think of it as shares in a company.
At first, the project is worthless, since it has just started - thus, the tokens are worthless, as well. However, as hype starts building up, and the project gets more and more recognition, the price of the token increases, as well.
At some point, the project owners might decide to do a rug pull - simply dump their tokens into the market, causing an immediate and huge price crash. Suddenly, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands more tokens on the supply side of things, and no demand - naturally, the token loses price!
It’s worth mentioning that some rug pulls of this kind happen gradually, instead of a sudden dump - developers could choose to offload their tokens slowly, with the hopes that no one will notice. However, in the vast majority of cases, the rug pull will happen in a matter of minutes.
In this situation, the developers will run away with a newly-acquired stack of ETH or BNB coins that they’ve traded their project token for, while investors will be left “holding the bag” of now-worthless tokens. As I’ve said - a classic example of a rug pull.
If you want a real-world example of what this type of a rug pull looks like, you needn’t look further than into the alleged rug pull of the Squid Game token. This event even made the headlines of mainstream news sources! Essentially, the scenario of how it went down is very simple - some people created a token based on the popular TV show, and when investors started flocking in, the team behind the project allegedly rug pulled it, and ran away with the funds.
While no law enforcement agency has “confirmed” this to be a rug pull, most of the crypto community agrees that the Squid Game token was, indeed, rug pulled.
Draining Liquidity
The second super-popular method of how rug pulls are performed is by draining the liquidity from the project. This might require some explanation.
Imagine that you’ve come up with an awesome idea for a brand new cryptocurrency project. You’ve set everything up, and are ready to launch your project. However, since the token of your project is completely new, and thus, worthless, you will need to supply the project with liquidity, in order to allow other people to trade your tokens at the very beginning.
So, what this would look like is something like this - you supply the market with your new tokens, in addition to some valuable crypto coins, such as Ethereum. This is called a liquidity pool - imagine it as a jar where you put two different types of candy into it. If you want to get a better understanding of liquidity pools, though, I urge you to go and read the section dedicated to liquidity pools, and then come back to this one.
So, the pool allows new investors to come in, and trade their valuable tokens for your newly-created project tokens. With time, as more and more investors join in on the project, the pool will start receiving a lot more of the valuable crypto tokens, while having less and less of your project token.
What a malicious developer could do here is simply take out all of the liquidity from the pool - in other words, just how they initially put in their valuable coins or tokens into the project (for example, Ethereum), they could now take them out, in the same way. Now, however, they would be taking out much more than they’ve put in, thanks to all of the new investors that have contributed their ETH to the pool.
In this situation, investors are, once again, left “holding the bag” - they can’t sell their worthless tokens, since all of the liquidity (or, Ethereum) has been drained out of the pool, by the malicious developers or project owners.
Malicious Code
Now, the third type of rug pulls has to do with malicious project code. Admittedly, it’s one of the rarer types of rug pulls - this doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen, though! Since it’s a bit rare, it might even be overlooked. That is because not that many people know that this is even possible.
Developers of a project could code some malicious mechanics into their smart contracts. For example, they could write code that prevents investors from selling their tokens - meaning, you could only BUY the token, but couldn’t SELL it.
This would, obviously, make the price of the token go up, pretty fast, since no one but the developer is able to sell it. If they time it right, the people behind the project could dump their share of the tokens into the market before the word goes out, and the rug pull becomes evident.
Unless you know where to look at, rug pulls like these can be easy to overlook! This is why it’s important to really dig deep into the project, read all of the investor feedback, and check for any potential loopholes.
How to Spot a Potential Rug Pull?
So, speaking of loopholes, now that you know what rug pulls are, and how the traditional rug pulls are executed, we can also take a look at some signs that you could spot within a project, if you suspect it to be a future rug pull in development!
The very first and most-obvious thing to look out for is token distribution - in other words, if there are any number of wallets that hold a huge number of all of the available project tokens.
How can you check this? Well, there are special websites, such as Etherscan and BscScan - these are blockchain explorers that allow you to enter the smart contract address for any Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain project out there, and check the token allocation. If you see that 10 or 20 wallets hold more than 50% of all the available tokens, chances are that there’s something fishy going on, and you should stay away from the project.
The second thing to look out for has to do with liquidity. Remember when I told you about the liquidity draining method of a rug pull? Well, one way how you can see whether a project has the potential to be rug pulled this way is by checking if the liquidity for that project is locked or not.
Locked liquidity means that there’s no chance for the developers to access it, and thus, suddenly rug pull the project. Of course, you should also check for how long that liquidity is locked - if it’s just a couple of months, well, that’s not going to change much.
The third sign that a project could be a potential rug pull is actually made up of two parts - anonymous developers, and a lack of an independent audit.
If the developers for a project are anonymous, that should raise some red flags - if they DO end up rug pulling their project, you won’t really have any leads on who to seek out for your damages. If, however, the developers or project owners are well-known, and their identities are public, there’s a much smaller chance that a rug pull will happen.
On that same note, if a project is independently audited, this also adds to its legitimacy claims. An independent audit is when the smart contract is checked by professionals who are actively trying to find potential loopholes and malicious projects. If there’s a lack of an audit, though, or if it has been audited by some shady, non-reliable auditor, then this should also raise some red flags.
Last but not least, a huge thing that you should be aware of is how the developers - or the team behind the project, in general, - interact with their investors. Do they have an official website, a Discord, and a Twitter account? How is their communication - do they talk with their investors? Does it look like they’re trying to hide something, or are there questions that keep getting dodged all the time?
In general, you should really “get a feel” for the community and team behind a project, before you decide if it’s worth investing in or not. If there’s something not quite right, or you feel that there’s shadiness surrounding the project, it could be a rug pull, just waiting to happen.
A great example of how intricate and difficult-to-spot rug pulls can be is a token called SaveTheKids. It was created and launched by a few different YouTube and social media influencers, most of who dumped their tokens into the market a few hours after the launch, thus crashing the token’s price.
Again, this was an ALLEGED rug pull - for legalities’ sake, this is just the conclusion that the community behind the project has come to, and no financial authority has really confirmed it. Nevertheless, it just goes to show that even if the project has an awesome community and some very well-known names behind it, you can still never be 100% certain that there isn’t something fishy going on, in the background.
With that, though, we've come to an end of this section. I hope that now you will be more aware of the signs, that a rug pull might take place.
I have to say, though, this can get tricky, since sometimes, the actual influencer is the bad guy. If you want an example of what an alleged rug pull looks like, one of the most recent high-profile cases would be that of the streamer Ice Poseidon, and the CxCoin.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: General outlook \/ social authority.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//how-to-avoid-rug-pull-2.o.jpg/" alt=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: General outlook \/ social authority.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"384\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Paul Denino - better known online as Ice Poseidon - had created and advertised a platform for content creators, where they could get paid in cryptocurrencies. Then, after investments started flocking in, he took almost all of the money out of the project, and appears to be quite shameless about it!<\/p>\n<p>This just goes to show that even online stars themselves can allegedly rug their fans. Thus, you should be <strong>very cautious<\/strong>! <\/p>\n<h3>Liquidity<\/h3>\n<p>The second sign that you should look out for, if you want to avoid rug pulls, has to do with project liquidity. It’s a whole huge topic, but what you need to know for now is that a project’s liquidity can definitely tell you a lot, in terms of a potential rug pull!<\/p>\n<p>If you check out the liquidity of some sort of a new project (or, token), and see that it’s very low, that’s already a red flag. Projects that have liquidity up to around $100k are often seen as being very easy to manipulate! Think about it yourself - if there are only a few thousand dollars worth of tokens in the <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-liquidity-pool/">liquidity pool<\/strong><\/a>, the project owners could simply deposit $1000 into the pool, which would artificially increase the price of the token significantly!<\/p>\n<p>Put simply, if a project has low liquidity, it means two things - that the team behind the project hasn’t invested a lot of their own money into it, and that the price of the token behind the project is very easy to manipulate.<\/p>\n<p>This actually leads us to the second part of this liquidity-related sign of how to spot a rug pull - <strong>locked liquidity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>What this term essentially means is that the team behind a token has locked the liquidity of their project, for a specific period of time, and they won’t be able to access it. This is a good thing!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Project liquidity.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//how-to-avoid-rug-pull-3.o.jpg/" alt=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Project liquidity.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"397\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If developers or project owners lock liquidity, there's a much smaller chance that they’ll rug pull the project, since it becomes much more difficult to do. Of course, there are still ways how scammers are able to do their scamming, but it’s still a point of reassurance!<\/p>\n<p>Note, however, that the liquidity should be locked for a longer period of time. If it’s locked for a month or even a year, well… That’s nothing, really! It’s as if a thief would come to you, and say - hey, don’t worry, I won’t steal your money… For a month. After that, well - we’ll see.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, do keep in mind that not all situations are the same - unlocked liquidity isn’t an immediate sign that a project is a rug pull, since there are many <strong>variables to consider<\/strong>, and many different projects with different goals and mechanics. That being said, if you see that a project hasn’t got locked liquidity, you should be very careful!<\/p>\n<p>By the way, if you’d like to learn more about liquidity - what that is, how it works, and so on -, you can check out the dedicated section on the topic - <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//what-is-liquidity-pool-in-crypto/">here/strong>/a>!/p>/n Thankfully, that’s super-simple to do! There are special services called <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-blockchain-explorer/">blockchain explorers<\/strong><\/a>. The two most popular ones are <strong>Etherscan and BscScan<\/strong> - on them, you can enter the <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-smart-contract/">smart contract<\/strong><\/a> address of any project built on the <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//buy-ethereum-eth/">Ethereum/strong>/a> or Binance Smart Chain networks, respectively, and check a list of wallets holding the most project tokens.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Token allocation.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//how-to-avoid-rug-pull-4.o.jpg/" alt=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Token allocation.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"596\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you see that the top 10 wallets hold over 15% or 20% of all of the available tokens, this is a tell-tale sign to stay away from that project! What could happen is the whale wallets could decide to dump all of their tokens into the market, thus crashing the price of the token in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Checking project token allocation is completely free to do, and typically takes only a few minutes. Make sure to do so with all projects that you are planning to invest in! After all, it’s one of the simplest ways of how to spot a rug pull.<\/p>\n<h3>Check the Project Whitepaper - Roadmap<\/h3>\n<p>Number four has to do with the <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-whitepaper/">Whitepaper/strong>/a> of the project.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine a friend came to you, and told you about “this amazing new company” that he invested money into, and he suggested you do the same. Well, before going out there and putting your money into that company, you would probably try to do some <strong>research<\/strong> on what it is that they do! Part of your research would surely include looking into the company’s mission statement, its <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-roadmap/">roadmap/strong>/a>, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>Well, cryptocurrency projects are the same! If you want to avoid getting rugged, checking out the project’s Whitepaper or its roadmap is essential!<\/p>\n<p>Many rug pulls in the making don’t have solid Whitepapers. Instead, they are filled with random crypto buzzwords, and are usually very short. If you read through the Whitepaper, and come out understanding less than you did before checking it out, that’s a clear sign to stay away from the project!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Check the project Whitepaper - Roadmap.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//how-to-avoid-rug-pull-5.o.jpg/" alt=\"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto: Check the project Whitepaper - Roadmap.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"601\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Whitepapers are also a great way to get to know what the project is all about. A good rule of thumb for you to follow is this - if the Whitepaper looks like a sales pitch, and appeals to your emotions (in other words, desperately tries to sell you something), it shouldn’t be taken seriously, at all.<\/p>\n<h3>“I’ve Seen This Before”<\/h3>\n<p>Now, the fifth and final method of how to avoid a crypto rug pull is something I like to call “I’ve seen this before…”. You should imagine me saying this with a really suspicious expression on my face.<\/p>\n<p>So basically, it’s pretty simple - if you feel like you’ve seen this exact project model a few times already, you might be getting rugged. That’s because most scammers don’t bother with creating a new and enticing project - instead, they simply <strong>copy-paste the code<\/strong> from another project, and only change a few variables, such as the name of the token.<\/p>\n<p>This is true both with the way that the project is presented, as well as the code behind it. If you know what you’re doing, and where to look, you could basically “create” (or copy) a “new” cryptocurrency project in a matter of hours, if not minutes.<\/p>\n<p>That sounds very dangerous if you’re an investor. However, it’s also a good thing, since it makes picking and choosing the right crypto project for yourself much simpler!<\/p>\n<p>If you feel like you’ve already read that Whitepaper a few times before, or have seen this exact same marketing gimmick, again and again, you should probably avoid investing in the project, since it might end up being a rug pull.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>There are various other ways how you can spot and avoid rug pulls, but I’ve told you about five of the most <strong>common and notable<\/strong> methods. If you spot any of these within a project, or are simply feeling that something isn’t quite right, you should avoid investing your money into it - this will potentially save you from a huge headache in the long run!<\/p>","definition":"Did you know that OneCoin, which stole more than $4 billion from investors, is one the biggest rug pulls in the crypto market's history?","status":"published","meta_title":"How to Avoid Rug Pulls in Crypto: 5 Ways Explained","meta_description":"Wondering how to be safe from rug pull scams? In this section, you'll find 5 explained ways & examples of how to spot & avoid rug pulls.","meta_keywords":"how to avoid rug pull crypto, how to spot a rug pull, how to spot a rug pull nft, rug pull scam, what is a rug pull in crypto, rug pull definition, crypto rug pull examples, how does a rug pull work","updated_at":"2024-03-18T02:45:26.000000Z","youtube_video":{"id":23,"channel_id":1,"sort":86,"video_title":"How to Avoid Rug Pulls in Crypto? (5 Ways Explained)","description":"How to avoid rug pulls in crypto?\n\nCryptocurrency rug pulls are very common these days. Thus, crypto enthusiasts and investors should educate themselves on how they could spot and avoid rug pulls, both when it comes to crypto projects, as well as NFTs.\n\nIn this video, I will tell you all about it! Specifically, I\u2019ll quickly run you through what a rug pull is, in regards to crypto, and what a typical rug pull looks like. Then, we\u2019ll take a look at five of the best and most-effective ways to spot a potential rug pull in the making.\n\nHave you ever been rug-pulled? Or maybe you\u2019ve spotted some projects that have all of the red flags associated with rug pulls? Do share your experiences in the comment section down below!\n\nVideo Time Table:\n\n0:00 Introduction to How to Avoid Rug Pulls in Crypto\n0:47 What is a Rug Pull?\n1:41 How to Spot and Avoid a Potential Rug Pull?\n2:06 General Outlook \/ Social Authority\n3:40 Project Liquidity\n5:37 Token Allocation\n6:32 Check the Project's Whitepaper \/ Roadmap\n7:30 I've Seen This Before\n8:30 Wrap-up: How to Avoid Rug Pulls in Crypto?\n\nGet Quick Crypto Tips on Twitter - Follow:\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/crypto_xplained\n\n#CryptoFinallyExplained #HowtoAvoidRugPullCrypto #HowtoSpotaRugPull","video_id":"tNPU6AY4o74","duration":536,"view_count":838,"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.bitdegree.org\/youtube\/crypto-finally-explained\/how-to-avoid-rug-pulls-in-crypto-5-ways-explained.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"published_at":"2022-05-02T20:22:09.000000Z","created_at":"2022-05-02T23:00:01.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-04-29T23:00:05.000000Z","channel":{"id":1,"title":"CryptoFinallyExplained","channel_id":"UCOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA","main_playlist_id":"UUOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA"}}}"
:prev-section="{"id":477,"chapter_id":7,"order":9,"featured_image_id":3091,"youtube_video_id":68,"author_id":1,"created_at":"2023-04-20T11:47:32.000000Z","slug":"investing-in-cryptocurrency","title":"Investing in Cryptocurrency: How to Manage Your Risks?","content":"<p>In this section, I’m going to tell you <strong>how to manage your risks<\/strong> while investing in <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//tutorials//what-is-cryptocurrency/">cryptocurrency/a>/strong>!/p>/n If you’re reading this section, chances are that you know a thing or two about <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//how-to-invest-in-crypto/">how to start investing in crypto<\/strong><\/a>, or it’s at least a topic that interests you, and you’re beginning to look into it. Whatever the case might be, one thing’s for sure - as the crypto market evolves, there are more and more people who are developing an interest in investing in crypto.<\/p>\n<p><em>That’s awesome!<\/em> However, I probably don’t need to tell you that it’s something that comes with some specific risks, as well - it’s not all just sunshine and rainbows, mind you! Before you start investing your hard-earned money into crypto, <strong>it’s crucial to understand risk management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In this section, we’re going to talk about what are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency. To start off, we’ll discuss those risks, to begin with, and after that, we’ll talk about how you can both manage and avoid them, as well as improve your investing strategies, in general!<\/p>\n<p><em>Let’s get to it!<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>What are the Risks Associated With Investing in Crypto?<\/h2>\n<p>Now, then - to begin, I’ll assume that you’re already quite savvy when it comes to the <em>“standard”<\/em> crypto concepts, such as <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//what-is-a-crypto-wallet/">crypto wallets<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//how-do-cryptocurrency-exchanges-work/">exchange platforms<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//blockchain-transaction/">how cryptocurrency transactions work<\/a><\/strong>, and so on.<\/p>\n<p><em>If that’s not the case, before moving further, check out the previous sections in this Crypto 101 Handbook - there are sections dedicated to all of these topics!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, the very first big question is rather self-evident - <strong>what are the risks associated with investing in crypto?<\/strong> Well, believe it or not, there are actually quite a few, really! The thing that makes this topic complicated, and void of a single, straightforward answer is that “crypto” is a rather broad term - <em>do you want to invest in specific cryptocurrencies? Maybe you’re looking to buy <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-non-fungible-token-nft/">NFTs/a>? Or, you’re interested in using a <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-are-decentralized-applications-dapps/">dApp/a>?<\/em><\/p>\nToken Allocation<\/h3>\n<p>The third major thing to look into is token allocation. In other words, you need to check out how many tokens are held in a few of the top <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//best-cryptocurrency-wallet/">wallets/strong>/a> (also known as <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-whale/">whales/strong>/a>)./p>/n
rug pull<\/a> in the making<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This is something that is especially relevant during a <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-bull-market/">bull market<\/a><\/strong> - a period of time when the whole industry is experiencing huge growth, and many people are throwing their money into any and all projects that they come across. Bull runs are when a lot of malicious players come into the market, create scam projects, hype them up, and then run away with the investors’ money, at some point.<\/p>\n<p>Moving on, when discussing the most common mistakes that crypto investors make, it’s crucial to mention the platform (or, exchange) that you’ll be using. Put simply, while most of the focus usually lies on diversifying your portfolio and screening out any potential scams, it shouldn’t be forgotten that <strong>picking a <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//best-cryptocurrency-exchange/">reliable and trustworthy investing platform<\/a> is definitely part of the deal, too<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>In order to see just how important this is, all that you need to do is take a good look at the news cycle in the crypto space - it seems that, every other day or so, there’s a new breach in some platform’s security, or a new bankruptcy on the horizon. This has especially been exacerbated after the whole <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//news//sam-bankman-frieds-ftx-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/">FTX exchange debacle<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Dealing With Cryptocurrency Investing Risks<\/h2>\n<p>So - those are some of the more common risks associated with investing in crypto. Of course, as I’ve mentioned earlier, <strong>there are many more potential risks out there<\/strong> - however, if you learn to deal with and manage the <em>“main”<\/em>, big risks, this should improve your investing journey, significantly!<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of which, as promised, I won’t leave you in the dark - now that you know what are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency, let’s discuss how to deal with these risks. <strong>Note that none of this is going to be financial advice<\/strong> - just some tips that I’ve gathered throughout the years. Make sure to always consult with a qualified professional before any and all investing-related ventures!<\/p>\n<p>Now, first and foremost, <strong>when it comes to “not investing more than you’re willing to lose”<\/strong>, the solution is simple - assuming that you have a stable monthly income, you should create a set budget every single month, of just how much you can put into your crypto investment portfolio, without it impacting your life.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"Investing in cryptocurrency: \" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//optimized//investing-in-cryptocurrency-03.jpg/" alt=\"Investing in cryptocurrency: \" width=\"1000\" height=\"578\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A good way to look at it is by thinking - <em>what if this amount of money simply disappears?<\/em> <em>Will it impact me in any way? Will it hinder my quality of life? <\/em>If the answer is “yes”, you’re probably overinvested.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The question of portfolio diversification<\/strong> is closely related to this topic, as well. Most experts will tell you that it’s never a good idea to invest into a single asset, whether it’s a cryptocurrency, a stock, or anything else. Instead, it’s important to do some in-depth research, find a few different projects that have potential, and diversify your investment among them.<\/p>\n<p>Truthfully, investing in different asset classes is often an even better idea - however, this is something that falls far beyond the scope of this section.<\/p>\n<p>Moving on, we have the difficult question - <strong>how to avoid crypto scams, and choose a reliable project to invest in?<\/strong> Well, as you can probably guess, there’s only one answer - research, research, and more research. If you’re going to learn how to start investing in cryptocurrency, you’re going to be doing A LOT of that.<\/p>\n<p><em>I’m not kidding, mind you!<\/em> There really is no way around it - whether it’s the middle of a bull run, or a deep Crypto Winter, before committing any of your money towards some sort of a project, <strong>you need to perform an extensive amount of research<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If you’re not sure where to start, I've written a <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//how-to-avoid-rug-pulls-in-crypto/">section about rug pulls<\/a><\/strong> (how to spot and avoid them), how to do research, and how to vet different projects and project types. Check it out - <em>perhaps that’s exactly what you need to kickstart your crypto investment journey?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Outlining a few of the bigger aspects here, you should <strong>always perform a background check<\/strong> on the founders and the team behind a project, read through the whitepaper and roadmap, check out the community, and look into whether the project has any notable names standing behind it, in the form of venture capital investments.<\/p>\n<p>If all of these aspects are in-check, it’s a good green flag to start off with - you can then look into some of the more detailed aspects concerning the project.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"Investing in cryptocurrency: The investment platform of choice.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//optimized//investing-in-cryptocurrency-04.jpg/" alt=\"Investing in cryptocurrency: The investment platform of choice.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"558\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, <strong>the investment platform of choice<\/strong>. Obviously, nowadays, there are countless numbers of different crypto exchanges and brokerage platforms out there, all offering their clients a wide array of benefits and features. This makes it very easy to get lost and confused, and end up picking a platform with a <em>less-than-stellar<\/em> reputation.<\/p>\n<p>In order to avoid this confusion, you should <strong>spend just as much time vetting out your exchange of choice<\/strong>, as you’ve spent researching the cryptocurrencies that you’ve decided to invest in. Check the reputation of the platform, its security measures, history of break-ins, whether or not it has some sort of insurance on deposited assets, as well as the fees that it will charge you.<\/p>\n<p>Different additional features are cool and all, but security and fees should always be at the forefront of your research. If any of these two aspects are lacking, you could end up losing all of your assets, or paying a huge amount of money every single time that you perform a trade or crypto acquisition on the exchange.<\/p>\n<h2>Wrapping Up<\/h2>\n<p>So, then - those were some of the most common risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies, as well as my personal tips on how to deal with each one of them. One thing that I do want to add is that <strong>these risks (as well as tips) are going to be applicable to most types of crypto investments that you might think of<\/strong> - whether it be crypto <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//coin-vs-token/">coins & tokens<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//what-are-nfts/">NFTs/a>/strong>, <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//learn//what-are-dapps-in-crypto/">dApps/strong>/a>, or anything in between.<\/p>\n<p>To sum all of it up, let me just reiterate - the best ways to manage your cryptocurrency investing risks is to set an investment budget, as well as do as much research as you possibly can. Obviously, consulting a licensed financial advisor should be a priority, as well.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>","definition":"Did you know that one of the best ways of avoiding most crypto investment risks is setting an investment budget and doing extensive research before making any decisions?","status":"published","meta_title":"How to Manage Your Risks When Investing in Cryptocurrency?","meta_description":"Are you thinking about investing in cryptocurrency? Before doing that, read this to find out what you should know about investing in crypto.","meta_keywords":"investing in cryptocurrency, what to know about cryptocurrency investing, how to start investing in cryptocurrency, how to make money investing in cryptocurrency, what are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency","updated_at":"2024-02-08T14:56:33.000000Z","youtube_video":{"id":68,"channel_id":1,"sort":47,"video_title":"How to Avoid Major Crypto Investment Risks? (Beginner-Friendly)","description":"How to manage your risks when learning to invest in cryptocurrency?\n\nInvesting in crypto can be a very exciting concept - that\u2019s undeniable! However, as with any other investment, the process comes with its own risks, as well. Risks that should be addressed before you actually start investing.\n\nIn this video, you will have the opportunity to learn about the biggest risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency, whether it be coins & tokens, NFTs, or else. I will also tell you about how to manage and deal with these risks, to improve your investing experience even further!\n\nDo you have any tips on dealing with crypto investment risks? Make sure to share them with everybody, in the comment section below!\n\nVideo Time Table:\n\n0:00 Introduction to How to Avoid Crypto Investing Risks\n1:03 Risks Associated With Investing in Crypto\n4:06 Dealing With Crypto Investing Risks\n5:47 How to Avoid Crypto Scams?\n7:48 Wrap-up: How to Avoid Crypto Investing Risks?\n\nGet Quick Crypto Tips on Twitter - Follow:\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/crypto_xplained\n\n#CryptoInvesting #CryptoScam #RiskManagement","video_id":"fQfMIv1Ppww","duration":521,"view_count":193,"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.bitdegree.org\/youtube\/crypto-finally-explained\/how-to-avoid-major-crypto-investment-risks-beginner-friendly.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"published_at":"2023-05-24T14:14:52.000000Z","created_at":"2023-05-24T23:00:11.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-04-29T23:00:04.000000Z","channel":{"id":1,"title":"CryptoFinallyExplained","channel_id":"UCOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA","main_playlist_id":"UUOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA"}}}"
:model="{"id":19,"chapter_id":7,"order":10,"featured_image_id":3052,"youtube_video_id":18,"author_id":1,"created_at":"2022-05-04T05:54:42.000000Z","slug":"what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto","title":"What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?","content":"<p>In this section, we’re going to cover what is <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-rug-pull/">a rug pull<\/strong><\/a>, in crypto!<\/p>\n<p>Imagine that, one day, while browsing Reddit, you’ve stumbled upon a brand new crypto project - somebody made a post about a token that was just launched a few hours ago. It looks great, and there are multiple people commenting on how it will surely “<strong>go to the moon<\/strong>”!<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by all these comments and not wanting to miss out on a potentially great investment opportunity, you decided to go all-in, and invest your savings into the token. While you went to bed seeing your investment increasing tenfold, the next morning, you wake up to see that your new tokens are now worth but a few cents. This is often what a classic rug pull looks like.<\/p>\n<p>In this section, we are talking about rug pulls. I’ll explain the concept of what a rug pull is, in crypto, and give you a few examples of what classic rug pulls look like! In the end, I’ll also tell you what to look out for, when you suspect that a project might be a future rug pull.<\/p>\n<p>Let’s get to it!<\/p>\n<h2>What is a Rug Pull?<\/h2>\n<p>So, what is a rug pull in the world of crypto, exactly?<\/p>\n<p>Well, to put it in one word, it’s theft - <strong>literal theft<\/strong>. However, the definition of the term is also rather simple - it’s when the developers or project owners run away with people’s investments. A typical example of a rug pull would be that which I’ve mentioned in the introductory part of this section.<\/p>\n<p>Say, you’ve bought $100 worth of a token called “DefinitelyNotARugPull”. It’s a brand new project, but you’ve noticed that it has a lot of hype surrounding it, already - Reddit comments, Tweets, likes and upvotes, and so on. They even have a flashy and functional website!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"What is a Rug Pull in crypto: An example of a Rug Pull.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-1.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a Rug Pull in crypto: An example of a rug pull.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"289\" \/><\/p>\n<p>All of these things can be used to lure unsuspecting investors into a trap. Once you bite the bullet and actually buy $100 worth of this new token, its price may rise for the first few hours or days, sure. This is just the period when the developers are generating hype, and trying to get as many people to buy in as possible.<\/p>\n<p>After those initial few days, however, your funds could be gone in <strong>a matter of minutes<\/strong> - in other words, you might get rug pulled. There are actually a few ways of how this would look like, so let’s explore the most popular methods of rug pulling, shall we?<\/p>\n<h2>Developers Selling their Tokens<\/h2>\n<p>Undoubtedly the most common method of how rug pulls are executed is by developers or companies behind the project <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-dumping/">dumping/strong>/a> their own tokens into the market, thus crashing the price of the token. Allow me to elaborate on this.<\/p>\n<p>When developers create a project, they also set things such as total token supply, and initial token allocation. Meaning, they can give themselves any number of tokens that they’d like - in many cases, developers do that. Think of it as shares in a company.<\/p>\n<p>At first, the project is worthless, since it has just started - thus, the tokens are worthless, as well. However, as hype starts building up, and the project gets more and more recognition, the price of the <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-token/">token/strong>/a> <strong>increases<\/strong>, as well.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Developers selling their tokens.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-2.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Developers selling their tokens.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"495\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At some point, the project owners might decide to do a rug pull - simply dump their tokens into the market, causing an immediate and huge price crash. Suddenly, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands more tokens on the supply side of things, and no demand - naturally, the token loses price!<\/p>\n<p>It’s worth mentioning that some rug pulls of this kind happen gradually, instead of a sudden dump - developers could choose to offload their tokens slowly, with the hopes that no one will notice. However, in the vast majority of cases, the rug pull will happen in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n<p>In this situation, the developers will run away with a newly-acquired stack of <strong>ETH<\/strong> <strong>or BNB<\/strong> coins that they’ve traded their project token for, while investors will be left “holding the bag” of now-worthless tokens. As I’ve said - a classic example of a rug pull.<\/p>\n<p>If you want a real-world example of what this type of a rug pull looks like, you needn’t look further than into the alleged rug pull of the Squid Game token. This event even made the headlines of mainstream news sources! Essentially, the scenario of how it went down is very simple - some people created a token based on the popular TV show, and when investors started flocking in, the team behind the project allegedly rug pulled it, and ran away with the funds.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Squid Game example.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//how-to-avoid-rug-pulls-3.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Squid Game example.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"582\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While no law enforcement agency has “confirmed” this to be a rug pull, most of the crypto community agrees that the Squid Game token was, indeed, rug pulled.<\/p>\n<h2>Draining Liquidity<\/h2>\n<p>The second super-popular method of how rug pulls are performed is by draining the liquidity from the project. This might require some explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine that you’ve come up with an awesome idea for a brand new <strong>cryptocurrency project<\/strong>. You’ve set everything up, and are ready to launch your project. However, since the token of your project is completely new, and thus, worthless, you will need to supply the project with liquidity, in order to allow other people to trade your tokens at the very beginning.<\/p>\n<p>So, what this would look like is something like this - you supply the market with your new tokens, in addition to some valuable crypto coins, such as <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//buy-ethereum-eth/">Ethereum/strong>/a>. This is called a liquidity pool - imagine it as a jar where you put two different types of candy into it. If you want to get a better understanding of liquidity pools, though, I urge you to go and read the section dedicated to <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//what-is-liquidity-pool-in-crypto/">liquidity pools<\/strong><\/a>, and then come back to this one.<\/p>\n<p>So, the pool allows new investors to come in, and trade their valuable tokens for your newly-created project tokens. With time, as more and more investors join in on the project, the pool will start receiving a lot more of the valuable crypto tokens, while having less and less of your project token.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Draining liquidity.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-4.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Draining liquidity.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"702\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What a malicious developer could do here is simply take out all of the liquidity from the pool - in other words, just how they initially put in their valuable coins or tokens into the project (for example, Ethereum), they could now take them out, in the same way. Now, however, they would be taking out much more than they’ve put in, thanks to all of the <strong>new investors<\/strong> that have contributed their ETH to the pool.<\/p>\n<p>In this situation, investors are, once again, left “holding the bag” - they can’t sell their worthless tokens, since all of the liquidity (or, Ethereum) has been drained out of the pool, by the malicious developers or project owners.<\/p>\n<h2>Malicious Code<\/h2>\n<p>Now, the third type of rug pulls has to do with malicious project code. Admittedly, it’s one of the rarer types of rug pulls - this doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen, though! Since it’s a bit rare, it might even be overlooked. That is because not that many people know that this is even possible.<\/p>\n<p>Developers of a project could code some malicious mechanics into their <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-smart-contract/">smart contracts<\/strong><\/a>. For example, they could write code that prevents investors from selling their tokens - meaning, you could only BUY the token, but couldn’t SELL it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Malicious code.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-5.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Malicious code.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1009\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This would, obviously, make the price of the token go up, <strong>pretty fast<\/strong>, since no one but the developer is able to sell it. If they time it right, the people behind the project could dump their share of the tokens into the market before the word goes out, and the rug pull becomes evident.<\/p>\n<p>Unless you know where to look at, rug pulls like these can be easy to overlook! This is why it’s important to really dig deep into the project, read all of the investor feedback, and check for any potential loopholes.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Spot a Potential Rug Pull?<\/h2>\n<p>So, speaking of loopholes, now that you know what rug pulls are, and how the traditional rug pulls are executed, we can also take a look at some signs that you could spot within a project, if you suspect it to be a future rug pull in development!<\/p>\n<p>The very first and most-obvious thing to look out for is <strong>token distribution<\/strong> - in other words, if there are any number of <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////www.bitdegree.org//crypto//best-cryptocurrency-wallet/">wallets/strong>/a> that hold a huge number of all of the available project tokens.<\/p>\n<p>How can you check this? Well, there are special websites, such as Etherscan and BscScan - these are blockchain explorers that allow you to enter the smart contract address for any Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain project out there, and check the token allocation. If you see that 10 or 20 wallets hold more than 50% of all the available tokens, chances are that there’s something fishy going on, and you should stay away from the project.<\/p>\n<p>The second thing to look out for has to do with liquidity. Remember when I told you about the liquidity draining method of a rug pull? Well, one way how you can see whether a project has the potential to be rug pulled this way is by checking if the liquidity for that project is locked or not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Locked liquidity<\/strong> means that there’s no chance for the developers to access it, and thus, suddenly rug pull the project. Of course, you should also check for how long that liquidity is locked - if it’s just a couple of months, well, that’s not going to change much.<\/p>\n<p>The third sign that a project could be a potential rug pull is actually made up of two parts - anonymous developers, and a lack of an independent audit.<\/p>\n<p>If the developers for a project are anonymous, that should raise some red flags - if they DO end up rug pulling their project, you won’t really have any leads on who to seek out for your damages. If, however, the developers or project owners are well-known, and their identities are public, there’s a much smaller chance that a rug pull will happen.<\/p>\n<p>On that same note, if a project is <strong>independently audited<\/strong>, this also adds to its legitimacy claims. An independent audit is when the smart contract is checked by professionals who are actively trying to find potential loopholes and malicious projects. If there’s a lack of an audit, though, or if it has been audited by some shady, non-reliable auditor, then this should also raise some red flags.<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, a huge thing that you should be aware of is how the developers - or the team behind the project, in general, - interact with their investors. Do they have an official website, a Discord, and a Twitter account? How is their communication - do they talk with their investors? Does it look like they’re trying to hide something, or are there questions that keep getting dodged all the time?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: How to spot a potential rug pull?\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-6.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: How to spot a potential rug pull?\" width=\"1000\" height=\"888\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In general, you should really “get a feel” for the community and team behind a project, before you decide if it’s worth investing in or not. If there’s something not quite right, or you feel that there’s shadiness surrounding the project, it could be a rug pull, just waiting to happen.<\/p>\n<p>A great example of how intricate and difficult-to-spot rug pulls can be is a token called SaveTheKids. It was created and launched by a few different YouTube and social media <strong>influencers<\/strong>, most of who dumped their tokens into the market a few hours after the launch, thus crashing the token’s price.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Save the kids token.\" src=https://www.bitdegree.org/"https:////assets.bitdegree.org//crypto//storage//media//what-is-a-rug-pull-7.o.jpg/" alt=\"What is a rug pull in crypto: Save the kids token.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"790\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Again, this was an ALLEGED rug pull - for legalities’ sake, this is just the conclusion that the community behind the project has come to, and no financial authority has really confirmed it. Nevertheless, it just goes to show that even if the project has an awesome community and some very well-known names behind it, you can still never be 100% certain that there isn’t something fishy going on, in the background.<\/p>\n<p>With that, though, we've come to an end of this section. I hope that now you will be more aware of <strong>the signs<\/strong>, that a rug pull might take place.<\/p>","definition":"Did you know that the developers behind the Squid Game token managed to take off with $3.38 million?","status":"published","meta_title":"What is a Rug Pull in Crypto: How it Works & How to Spot It","meta_description":"Read about what is a rug pull in crypto, how it works, and how to spot it! Several easy-to-understand examples of rug pulls are included!","meta_keywords":"what is a rug pull in crypto, rug pull definition, what is a rug pull nft, crypto rug pull examples, how does a rug pull work, how to spot a rug pull","updated_at":"2024-03-18T02:31:53.000000Z","youtube_video":{"id":18,"channel_id":1,"sort":91,"video_title":"What is a Rug Pull in Crypto? (Meaning + Examples)","description":"What is a rug pull in crypto?\n\nCrypto rug pulls are a type of scam that project developers can perform on their investors. Specifically, a rug pull happens when the developers or owners of a project run away with their investors' funds, and leave those same investors \u201cholding the bag\u201d of now-worthless project tokens.\n\nThere are multiple ways of how a rug pull can be performed. In this video, I will tell you about the most popular types of rug pulls, and also, how to spot a potential rug pull, in order to avoid falling for scams.\n\nAre you a victim of a rug pull in crypto? Maybe you\u2019ve narrowly avoided getting rugged? Share your experiences in the comments below!\n\nVideo Time Table:\n\n0:00 Introduction to What is a Rug Pull in Crypto\n1:01 What is a Crypto Rug Pull?\n2:01 Rug Pull Examples: Developers Dumping Their Tokens\n3:50 Rug Pull Examples: Draining Liquidity\n5:20 Rug Pull Examples: Malicious Code\n6:23 How to Spot a Rug Pull?\n9:14 Wrap-up: What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?\n\nGet Quick Crypto Tips on Twitter - Follow:\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/crypto_xplained\n\n#WhatisaRugPullinCrypto #RugPullDefinition #WhatisaRugPullNFT #CryptoRugPullExamples #HowDoesaRugPullWork #HowtoSpotaRugPull","video_id":"pgTVuCsUcKw","duration":568,"view_count":1161,"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.bitdegree.org\/youtube\/crypto-finally-explained\/what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto-meaning-examples.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"published_at":"2022-03-25T14:50:08.000000Z","created_at":"2022-03-25T23:00:01.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-04-29T23:00:05.000000Z","channel":{"id":1,"title":"CryptoFinallyExplained","channel_id":"UCOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA","main_playlist_id":"UUOryUY0yxC08eJtK23mNgiA"}},"featured_image":{"id":3052,"uuid":"5c5542d9-07aa-4fe6-9f87-11c897e6bb91","user_id":null,"name":"what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto.o.jpg","url":"https:\/\/assets.bitdegree.org\/crypto\/storage\/media\/what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto.o.jpg","path":"crypto\/storage\/media\/what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto.o.jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","disk":"digitalOceanSpaces","size":94494,"width":768,"height":478,"custom_properties":null,"created_at":"2023-06-19T06:58:36.000000Z","updated_at":"2023-06-19T06:58:36.000000Z"},"crypto_book_chapter":{"id":7,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-trading.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-trading-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Trading & Investing"}}"
:chapter-list="[{"id":1,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-blockchain.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/blockchain-101.jpg","rating":100,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Blockchain","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":1,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-blockchain","title":"What is the Blockchain?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":1,"order":2,"slug":"decentralized-blockchain","title":"Anonymous & Decentralized Blockchains: The Cornerstone of Crypto","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":1,"order":3,"slug":"blockchain-transaction","title":"What is a Blockchain Transaction in Crypto?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":1,"order":4,"slug":"crypto-fees","title":"The Different Types of Crypto Fees Explained","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":1,"order":5,"slug":"what-is-bridging-in-crypto","title":"The Key Notion Behind the Concept of Bridging in Crypto","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":1,"order":6,"slug":"types-of-blockchains","title":"Different Types of Blockchains: What to Look Out For?","status":"published"}]},{"id":2,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-cryptocurrencies.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/cryptocurrencies-101.jpg","rating":100,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Cryptocurrencies","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":2,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-a-cryptocurrency","title":"What is a Cryptocurrency?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":2,"slug":"how-does-cryptocurrency-work","title":"How Does Cryptocurrency Work?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":3,"slug":"is-cryptocurrency-a-good-investment","title":"Is Cryptocurrency a Good Investment? The Pros & Cons","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":4,"slug":"coin-vs-token","title":"Coin VS Token: How Do They Differ?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":5,"slug":"what-are-stablecoins","title":"What are Stablecoins, Altcoins & Wrapped Coins?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":6,"slug":"what-is-a-bitcoin","title":"Bitcoin: the Pioneer of the Crypto World","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":7,"slug":"what-is-ethereum","title":"The Ultimate Blockchain for dApp Creation: Ethereum","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":8,"slug":"what-is-cardano-in-crypto","title":"What is Cardano and What is It Used For?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":9,"slug":"what-is-shiba-inu-coin","title":"Shiba Inu: the Dogecoin Killer","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":10,"slug":"what-is-solana-in-crypto","title":"Is Solana an Improved Version of Ethereum?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":11,"slug":"what-is-polkadot-in-crypto","title":"The Bridge Between Blockchains: Polkadot","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":12,"slug":"what-is-polygon-in-crypto","title":"Polygon: the Essential Scaling Solution for Ethereum","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":13,"slug":"what-is-luna-crypto","title":"The Bumpy Road of Terra (LUNA)","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":14,"slug":"what-is-fantom-crypto","title":"Is Fantom (FTM) Yet Another Ethereum Killer?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":15,"slug":"what-is-aave-crypto","title":"Aave: Crypto Lending Trailblazer","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":16,"slug":"what-is-algorand-crypto","title":"Did Algorand Truly Solve the Blockchain Trilemma?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":17,"slug":"what-is-olympus-dao","title":"Does Olympus DAO Have Anything to Do With Mythology?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":18,"slug":"what-is-avax","title":"Is Avalanche Network (AVAX) Rightfully Called the Future of DeFi?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":19,"slug":"what-is-monero-coin","title":"Monero: Where Cryptocurrency Meets Cryptography","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":20,"slug":"what-is-ripple-xrp","title":"Is Ripple \"it\" When it Comes to Cross-Border Transactions?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":2,"order":21,"slug":"practical-use-of-cryptocurrencies","title":"The Practical Use of Crypto","status":"published"}]},{"id":3,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-exchanges.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-exchanges-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Crypto Exchanges","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":3,"order":1,"slug":"how-do-cryptocurrency-exchanges-work","title":"How do Cryptocurrency Exchanges Work?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":2,"slug":"dex-vs-cex","title":"DEX VS CEX: Two Sides of the Crypto Exchange Industry","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":3,"slug":"crypto-day-trading","title":"Crypto Day Trading: The Difference Between Buying, Trading, and Swapping","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":4,"slug":"kyc-crypto","title":"KYC & AML: The Key to Complying With Legal Industry Standards","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":5,"slug":"how-to-buy-crypto","title":"From Fiat to Crypto: How to Buy Crypto for the First Time","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":6,"slug":"fiat-to-crypto","title":"Taking Profits: Turning Crypto Into Fiat","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":3,"order":7,"slug":"how-to-use-crypto","title":"You\u2019ve Got Crypto: What Can You Do With It?","status":"published"}]},{"id":4,"is_updated":0,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-wallets.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-wallets-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Crypto Wallets","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":4,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-a-crypto-wallet","title":"What is a Crypto Wallet?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":4,"order":2,"slug":"hot-wallet-vs-cold-wallet","title":"Hot Wallet VS Cold Wallet: Which One to Pick?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":4,"order":3,"slug":"non-custodial-wallet","title":"What are Non-Custodial Crypto Wallets?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":4,"order":4,"slug":"what-is-metamask","title":"Metamask: The Leading Non-Custodial Wallet","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":4,"order":37,"slug":"how-safe-is-cryptocurrency","title":"The Key Crypto Wallet Safety Practices: How Safe Can Crypto Be?","status":"published"}]},{"id":5,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-nfts.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/nfts-101.jpg","rating":100,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"NFTs","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":5,"order":2,"slug":"how-to-trade-nfts","title":"NFT Trading: The Ins and Outs","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":5,"order":3,"slug":"buying-nft","title":"Tips and Tricks of Choosing the Right NFTs","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":5,"order":4,"slug":"how-to-store-nft","title":"How to Store NFTs: Best Practices","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":5,"order":5,"slug":"how-to-create-an-nft","title":"How to Create Your Own NFTs?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":5,"order":6,"slug":"how-to-make-passive-money-with-nft","title":"Making Passive Money with NFTs","status":"published"}]},{"id":6,"is_updated":1,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-dapps.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/dapps-defi-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"dApps & Defi","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":6,"order":1,"slug":"what-are-nfts","title":"What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-defi","title":"What is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":2,"slug":"what-is-defi-2-0","title":"DeFi 2.0: The New Version of Decentralized Finance","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":3,"slug":"what-are-dapps-in-crypto","title":"What Are dApps and How Do They Work?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":4,"slug":"defi-dapps","title":"Picking the Right dApps: Dos and Don'ts","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":5,"slug":"what-is-web-3-0","title":"Web 3.0: The Future of the Internet","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":6,"slug":"what-are-smart-contracts","title":"What is the Core Purpose of Smart Contracts?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":7,"slug":"what-is-a-dao-in-crypto","title":"The Notion of a Decentralized Autonomous Ogranization (DAO)","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":8,"slug":"what-is-staking-in-crypto","title":"What is the Goal of Staking Crypto Assets?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":9,"slug":"what-is-liquidity-pool-in-crypto","title":"What is a Liquidity Pool and How Does It Work?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":10,"slug":"what-is-automated-market-maker","title":"Automated Market Maker: the Cornerstone of the Decentralized Crypto Exchange Industry","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":11,"slug":"what-is-yield-farming-in-crypto","title":"The Main Yield Farming Techniques","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":12,"slug":"what-is-an-oracle-in-crypto","title":"Crypto Oracles: The Link Between Blockchain and Outside World Data","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":13,"slug":"crypto-gambling","title":"The Peculiarities of Decentralized Crypto Gambling","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":6,"order":14,"slug":"what-is-the-metaverse","title":"Metaverse: A New Perception of Reality","status":"published"}]},{"id":7,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-trading.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-trading-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Trading & Investing","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":7,"order":1,"slug":"where-to-trade-crypto","title":"Where Can You Trade Cryptocurrencies?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":2,"slug":"how-to-invest-in-crypto","title":"Investing in Crypto: What Investing Options Do You Have?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":3,"slug":"ico-vs-ido","title":"ICO vs IDO vs IEO: Which One is the One?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":4,"slug":"what-is-an-airdrop","title":"What are Crypto Airdrops and How to Get Them?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":5,"slug":"how-to-get-free-crypto","title":"How to Get Free Crypto Assets?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":6,"slug":"how-to-arbitrage-crypto","title":"What is Crypto Arbitrage: The Main Principles","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":7,"slug":"what-is-a-perpetual-contract","title":"Perpetual Contracts: Futures Contracts Without an Expiration Date","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":8,"slug":"what-is-fud","title":"What is FUD: How to Use It to Your Advantage While Investing in Crypto?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":9,"slug":"investing-in-cryptocurrency","title":"Investing in Cryptocurrency: How to Manage Your Risks?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":10,"slug":"what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto","title":"What is a Rug Pull in Crypto?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":11,"slug":"how-to-avoid-rug-pulls-in-crypto","title":"How to Spot and Avoid Rug Pulls?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":7,"order":12,"slug":"how-to-avoid-crypto-taxes","title":"The Key Legal Techniques of Avoiding Crypto Taxes","status":"published"}]},{"id":8,"is_updated":null,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-analysis.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-analysis-101.jpg","rating":100,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Crypto Analysis","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":8,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-bullish-and-bearish","title":"Bearish and Bullish Markets: Do They Matter?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":8,"order":2,"slug":"best-technical-analysis-indicators-for-crypto","title":"Crypto Technical Analysis Indicators You Must Know About","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":8,"order":3,"slug":"what-is-candlesticks","title":"Technical Analysis: What are Candlesticks, Trendlines, and Patterns?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":8,"order":4,"slug":"how-to-track-new-crypto-coins","title":"Crypto Tracking: How to Track Your Favorite Coins & Tokens?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":8,"order":5,"slug":"how-to-research-crypto","title":"Crypto Research Fundamentals & Social Signals: Your Daily Trading Strategy","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":8,"order":46,"slug":"portfolio-diversification-definition","title":"Portfolio Diversification: The Whats, the Whys, and the Hows","status":"published"}]},{"id":9,"is_updated":0,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-crypto-mining.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-mining-101.jpg","rating":80,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Mining","crypto_book_sections":[{"chapter_id":9,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-crypto-mining","title":"Crypto Mining: What It is and How Does It Work?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":9,"order":2,"slug":"what-is-a-mining-pool","title":"Mining Pools: Is Collective Mining Better Than Solo Mining?","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":9,"order":3,"slug":"what-is-staking-crypto","title":"An Advanced Look into What is Staking Crypto","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":9,"order":4,"slug":"what-is-proof-of-stake-vs-proof-of-work","title":"Proof-of-Work VS Proof-of-Stake: The Differences That Matter","status":"published"},{"chapter_id":9,"order":5,"slug":"what-is-crypto-mining-rig","title":"Crypto Mining Rig: What It is and How to Build One?","status":"published"}]},{"id":10,"is_updated":0,"image_url":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/crypto-101-glossary.jpg","image_url_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/crypto-glossary-101.jpg","rating":100,"created_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-03-29T15:17:14.000000Z","title":"Crypto Terms","crypto_book_sections":[]}]"
current-chapter=""
current-section="what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto">