# Token safety

Anyone can launch a token, on Signal or anywhere else, and anyone can copy a name. Signal reads every token it lists and says what it found, in words, with the time of the reading.

## What the check is

For most tokens Signal runs a test trade that never touches the chain: it simulates a small buy, a transfer and a sale, and reads how much came back. It also reads the contract's shape (can an owner mint, freeze, pause or change the code) and how concentrated the holdings are.

A token launched on Signal v4 is read differently. Its code is the launch's fixed code and its liquidity is locked in its pool, so there is no owner switch to find. What matters there is the launch's own rules: its fee, any tax, and whether an opening fee is still running. The token's page shows them. See [Signal v4 launches](signal-v4.md).

**The check reads the contract and a test trade. It is not a review of the team and not advice to buy.** A token that passes can still go to zero.

## The words

| You see | It means |
| --- | --- |
| **Sell-tested · 1.3% round trip · 18m ago** | A buy and a sale were simulated and the sale worked. The percentage is what a round trip cost. The age is when it was read |
| **Safe, made on …** | The token came from a launchpad whose standard contract has no owner powers |
| **caution: …** | Something you should know before buying: its rules can change, a transfer keeps a cut, one wallet holds most of it, or it looks like another token |
| **danger: …** | Money put in may not come back out: a sale failed in the test, transfers are blocked, or a round trip loses nearly everything |
| **not checked: …** | Signal could not check it yet. That is not a warning and not an all-clear |
| **checking…** | A check is running |

A reading older than 30 minutes is shown quietly and re-read.

## What the ticket does with it

- **ok:** the buy goes.
- **caution:** the first tap sends nothing and shows the reason. A second tap buys.
- **danger:** a buy never sends. A sale always can.
- **not checked:** the buy asks once before it sends.

Signal never blocks a sale on a safety reading. Getting out is always open.

## Marks on a list

A row in a list carries at most two marks: who vouches for the token, and the one most serious problem, in plain words. Some you will meet:

| Mark | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Look-alike name | A verified token already uses this name or ticker at another address. This one is a different contract wearing it |
| Can't sell, Late sells fail | The sale failed in the test |
| N% tax on trades, Tax can change | The token takes a cut of trades, or its owner can raise it |
| Owner can mint, Owner can freeze, Owner can pause trades | Powers the contract's owner still holds |
| Code can change | An upgradeable contract |
| Top 10 hold N%, Creator holds N% | Concentrated holdings |
| Thin liquidity, Liquidity can be pulled | Little in the pool, or liquidity that is not locked |
| Home | On $SIGNAL only: Signal's own token. It confirms the token, not that it is safe to buy |
| Reviewed by Signal | Hand-reviewed identity. It confirms the token, not that it is safe to buy |

## Look-alikes

A coin that wears $SIGNAL's name or ticker, or another official token's, at a different address gets a red banner on its page: "Not the real SIGNAL", with the real address. A token not launched on Signal and not reviewed says "unverified · not launched here".

Check the address. It is the only thing that cannot be copied.

## What a list hides

Lists set some rows aside so the rest stay readable, and count them at the foot of the list with a "show" button: tokens that failed the safety check, look-alikes, and bursts of launch spam. Nothing is removed. A quiet new launch on Signal, with no buyers yet, is not hidden for being quiet.