What to ask when a token website says liquidity is locked

Identify the exact object

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Save the token's verified contract address, network and the address or contract said to hold the locked liquidity. Do not use a ticker alone: different assets can use similar names. Ask whether the claim concerns all liquidity or only a portion, and which date the statement describes. A screenshot without these identifiers is difficult to verify.

Find the control explanation

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Look for the duration, beneficiary, release conditions and any administrative or upgrade permissions. Distinguish a third-party lock report from the issuer's own claim. The SafeMoon case demonstrates why retained access matters, but this checklist does not itself audit a contract. If you cannot interpret a permission, mark it for qualified technical review instead of declaring the asset safe.

Keep the conclusion narrow

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Even a correctly verified lock would address only the assets and mechanism it covers. It would not establish fair token distribution, honest marketing or future price performance. Do not connect a wallet or sign a transaction merely to inspect a marketing claim. Use read-only records where possible, and preserve contradictory statements if the issuer changes its explanation.

Use a liquidity-lock evidence record

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Record network, exact token and pool addresses, version, lock contract, unlock date, administrator permissions and the date of the evidence. Verify addresses against independently located project documentation before inspecting them in a block explorer. Keep an observed balance separate from a claim about who can move it. If you cannot interpret upgrade or emergency permissions, leave that assessment unresolved. No wallet connection, approval or test payment is needed to preserve public documentation; a lock badge alone does not complete the record.

Sources, dates and limits

Checked 23 October 2026 using the February sentencing announcement and the May restitution order, docket 23-CR-433, document 320. This corrects the earlier statement that restitution remained undetermined. Separate civil settlement proceedings are outside this criminal-case account.