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Locked Liquidity and Locked Coins

  • Writer: Lara Hanyaloglu
    Lara Hanyaloglu
  • Feb 13
  • 2 min read

Updated: Feb 14

After discussing liquidity in the last post, let’s dive deeper into locked liquidity and locked coins—two crucial concepts in crypto that help secure investments and prevent scams. Understanding these terms and how they are correlated is essential for any investor navigating the DeFi space.


💎 What Are Locked Coins?

Locked coins are tokens that are restricted from being sold or transferred for a specific period. This is commonly seen in initial coin offerings (ICOs), staking programs, and vesting schedules for team members.


🛡️ Why Are Coins Locked?

  • Prevent Early Sell-Offs: Stops investors from dumping large amounts of tokens immediately, which can crash the price.

  • Build Long-Term Value: Promotes gradual token release and price stability.

  • Ensure Team Commitment: Vesting schedules prevent team members from selling all their tokens immediately.


🔑 Types of Locked Coins:

  1. Vesting Periods: Team and advisor tokens are released over time.

  2. Staking Locks: Tokens are locked in staking contracts to earn rewards.

  3. Airdrop Locks: Tokens from promotional campaigns are locked for a set time.


💧 What Is Locked Liquidity?

Locked liquidity refers to funds locked in liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap or PancakeSwap, ensuring stable trading and preventing scams.


🛡️ Why Is Liquidity Locked?

  • Prevents Rug Pulls: Developers cannot withdraw the liquidity, a common scam tactic.

  • Stabilizes Trading: Ensures smooth buying and selling without drastic price changes.

  • Boosts Investor Confidence: Shows transparency and long-term project commitment.


🔒 How Is Liquidity Locked?

Liquidity is locked using smart contracts through platforms such as:

  • Unicrypt

  • DXLock

  • Team Finance


🔗 How Locked Coins and Locked Liquidity Are Correlated

Locked coins and locked liquidity work together to ensure project sustainability and protect investors:

  • Vesting Schedules + Locked Liquidity: Prevent developers from manipulating the market while ensuring investors can trade securely.

  • Staking Rewards + Liquidity Pools: Locked coins in staking help secure the network, while locked liquidity ensures a stable market for those coins.

  • Airdrop Locks + Liquidity Locks: Align short-term marketing with long-term project growth.


🛑 What Happens If Liquidity or Coins Aren’t Locked?

  • Risk of Rug Pulls: Developers may remove liquidity, causing the token value to crash.

  • Price Manipulation: Team members could dump their coins, collapsing the market.

  • Loss of Trust: Investors are less likely to support projects without transparency.


🧩 How to Check if Liquidity and Coins Are Locked:

  • Use tools like DEXTools, Unicrypt, or Etherscan to verify liquidity lock status.

  • Review project whitepapers for vesting schedules and tokenomics.

  • Analyze smart contract audits from platforms like Certik.



Locked liquidity and locked coins are vital for building a secure and trustworthy crypto ecosystem. They work hand-in-hand to protect investors, prevent scams, and ensure market stability. Before investing, always verify that the project has both locked liquidity and reasonable token locks.

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