Mint authority and freeze authority are two permissions built into every standard Solana token. Mint authority lets whoever holds it create new tokens. Freeze authority lets whoever holds it lock any wallet's tokens so they cannot be sold or moved. On a memecoin, either one left switched on gives the creator a way to take your money, which is why both carry heavy weight in our grades.
How Solana tokens work
Every token on Solana has a mint account: a record on the blockchain that defines the token. It stores the total supply, the number of decimal places and two optional permissions, the mint authority and the freeze authority. Each one is either set to a wallet address, which can use it, or set to nothing.
Setting an authority to nothing is called revoking or renouncing it. According to Solana's own documentation, setting an authority to none removes that role permanently. Once revoked, there is no wallet left that could switch it back on.
Mint authority
What it does
The mint authority can create new tokens out of thin air and send them to any wallet. There is no limit and no delay.
Why it is dangerous on a memecoin
A memecoin's price depends on supply staying fixed. If the creator can print another billion tokens and sell them into the liquidity pool, every existing holder is diluted and the pool's SOL is drained into the creator's wallet. This is often called a mint rug.
There are legitimate reasons for a token to keep its mint authority. Stablecoins and some project tokens need to issue new supply. A memecoin has no such need. If a memecoin's mint authority is still active, the obvious question is why.
What revoked mint authority does not protect against
Revoking the mint authority fixes the supply. It does nothing about who already owns that supply. If insiders hold 40% of the tokens, they can still sell them. See bundled launches and insider wallets.
Freeze authority
What it does
The freeze authority can freeze any token account (the place a wallet holds a particular token). A frozen account cannot send or sell that token until it is thawed.
Why it is dangerous on a memecoin
Freeze authority is the main way to build a honeypot on Solana: a coin you can buy but cannot sell. The creator lets people buy, freezes their accounts, and sells into the pool while nobody else can. The chart may even look healthy for a while, because only buys are going through.
Regulated tokens such as some stablecoins keep a freeze authority for legal reasons, for example to comply with court orders. Memecoins have no such reason.
Token-2022 extensions
Solana has two token programs: the original Token Program and the newer Token-2022, which supports extras called extensions. Pump.fun now creates its coins with Token-2022, using only harmless metadata extensions. Some other extensions can give the creator powers similar to, or stronger than, freeze authority:
| Extension | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Permanent delegate | A set address can move or burn tokens from any holder's account, at any time |
| Transfer fee | A fee is taken on every transfer, and the fee rate can be changed by its authority |
| Transfer hook | Every transfer must call a separate program, which can add its own rules |
| Default account state | New token accounts can start out frozen |
| Pausable | Transfers, mints and burns can be paused |
These have genuine uses, but on a memecoin they deserve the same suspicion as an active freeze authority. RugCheck shows a token's program and extensions on its report and flags risky settings. When RugCheck rates one of these as a danger, our grade adds 2 points for it (up to two such flags).
How pump.fun coins handle this
Coins launched on pump.fun are created with a fixed supply and with both mint authority and freeze authority already revoked. In the reports we checked while writing this guide, every pump.fun coin showed both authorities revoked. So if you only trade pump.fun launches, you will rarely see these flags. They matter more for coins launched through other tools, where the creator sets the token up themselves. Read more in what is pump.fun.
Warning: A coin claiming to be a pump.fun launch, but showing active mint or freeze authority, is not what it says. Check the contract address on pump.fun itself.
How we score authorities
| What we find | Points |
|---|---|
| Mint authority still enabled | 4 |
| Freeze authority still enabled | 4 |
| Other RugCheck danger flag, such as a risky extension | 2 each, maximum two |
Four points on its own is an E grade. Both together is 8 points, which is an F. These are some of the heaviest weights in our system because, unlike holder concentration, they give the creator direct control over your tokens.
How to check a coin yourself
- On RugCheck: paste the contract address. The report shows whether mint and freeze authority are enabled and lists any risky token settings.
- On a block explorer such as Solscan: open the token's page and find the mint and freeze authority fields in its details. A wallet address means the authority is active. 'N/A', or no Authority row at all, means it has been revoked.
- On Before It Rugs: paste the contract address into the search box. If either authority is active, it will appear in the coin's evidence list, worst first.
Check again later if you hold a coin for any length of time. An authority that is revoked stays revoked, but an authority that is active can be used at any moment, and a creator can also revoke it later. Our safety checks re-run every 10 minutes while a coin is on the live board, so a grade can improve once an authority is switched off.
Revoked authorities are a minimum, not a pass
Having both authorities revoked is the starting point for any memecoin, not a sign of quality. Most coins that rug today have both revoked. They collapse because insiders sell, liquidity drains or the hype ends. Our guide on coins that pass every check and still rug explains how.
Related
- What is a rug pull? The main types on Solana
- What liquidity locks and burns do and don't protect
- What our A to F grades mean
- Wallet safety basics