Every coin on Before It Rugs gets a grade from A to F based on how many rug-pull warning signs we find in its public on-chain data. F means we found serious or several warning signs. A means we found none and the coin has some age and spread of holders. A grade measures evidence we can see. It is not a safety rating and it is never a reason to buy.
The short version
| Grade | Points | Plain meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0, with 500+ holders and 30+ minutes old | We found none of the warning signs we look for |
| B | 1, or 0 on a newer or smaller coin | One minor sign, or too early to say more |
| C | 2 | One moderate warning sign |
| D | 3 | A significant warning sign |
| E | 4 to 5 | Serious warning signs |
| F | 6 or more | Several serious signs, or RugCheck has marked it rugged |
| ? | Not checked yet | We have not received a safety report for this coin |
Where the data comes from
We use three free public sources. We are not affiliated with any of them.
- RugCheck provides the token report: mint and freeze authority, top holders, linked insider wallets, liquidity lock status, creator history and its own risk flags.
- DexScreener provides market data: price, market cap, liquidity, volume, and buys and sells. Its public feeds of new profiles and boosts also help us find new coins.
- GeckoTerminal provides lists of new and trending pools, which is another way we find coins.
How points are added
Each warning sign adds points. The more serious the sign, the more points. Every point comes with a line of plain English on the coin's page, so you can see exactly why it scored what it did.
| Warning sign | Points |
|---|---|
| RugCheck marks the coin as rugged | 9 |
| Mint authority still enabled | 4 |
| Freeze authority still enabled | 4 |
| 3 or more top-20 holders (each 1%+) with near-identical bags, a sign of a bundled launch | 3 |
| RugCheck links 20 or more insider wallets, and they are at least 3% of holders or the coin has fewer than 300 holders | 3 |
| RugCheck links 10 to 19 insider wallets, and they are at least 3% of holders or the coin has fewer than 300 holders | 2 |
| Largest single holder has 15% or more | 3 |
| Largest single holder has 8% to 15% | 2 |
| Top 10 holders have 50% or more | 2 |
| Top 10 holders have 30% to 50% | 1 |
| Liquidity not locked | 2 |
| Creator wallet has launched tokens that rugged | 3 |
| Creator still holds 5% or more | 1 |
| Other RugCheck "danger" risk | 2 each, up to two |
| Very thin liquidity, under $5,000 (coins trading in a normal DEX pool only) | 1 |
| Copycat: another coin with the same ticker came first | 2 |
Bundles, insiders and big holders score 1 to 3. For tokens more than 14 days old we score only RugCheck rugged status, mint authority and freeze authority, plus the very thin liquidity and copycat checks that apply to every coin.
A few details matter:
- Pools are not people. We remove liquidity pools, lockers and market accounts from the holder list before measuring concentration.
- Near-identical means within 0.05 percentage points of one of those wallets' bags, such as 2.31%, 2.33% and 2.35%.
- Only the higher band counts. A top holder with 20% scores 3 points, not 3 plus 2.
- Thin liquidity waits for graduation. Coins still on a launchpad bonding curve, such as pump.fun's, do not have a normal pool yet, so that check does not apply.
How points become a grade
Add up the points, then:
- 6 or more: F
- 4 or 5: E
- 3: D
- 2: C
- 1: B
- 0: A, but only if the coin has at least 500 holders and is at least 30 minutes old. Otherwise B.
The extra conditions for an A are there because a coin a few minutes old with a hundred holders has not had time to show its hand. A brand new coin with zero points gets a B until it is older and more widely held.
Examples
- A coin with mint authority enabled (4) and unlocked liquidity (2) has 6 points. F.
- A coin where one wallet holds 10% (2) and the top 10 hold 35% (1) has 3 points. D.
- A coin with no warning signs, 800 holders and two hours of trading has 0 points. A.
- The same coin 10 minutes after launch, with 150 holders. B.
What "?" means
A question mark means we have not received its safety report yet. We request reports once a coin has at least $3,000 of liquidity (or $3,000 of trading in the last hour on a launch curve), and RugCheck limits how many we can request each minute, so a new coin can wait a few minutes. Smaller coins stay unchecked unless you paste their address into the search box. We don't grade on market data alone.
How often grades update
- Market data (price, liquidity, volume, buys and sells) refreshes every 10 seconds.
- Safety checks (the RugCheck report) are re-checked every 10 minutes per coin while it is on the live board, and can take longer when rate limits are reached.
- Coins leave the live board after about 8 hours, unless they are still trading more than $50,000 an hour. After that their grade stays as it was at the last check.
Grades follow the evidence, so they change when it changes. If a creator revokes mint authority, the next check drops those 4 points. If a whale buys 15% of supply, the next check adds 3. A coin can move from A to F, or F to C, in a single update.
How well do the grades work?
We keep a public record of what happens to coins after we flag them. When a coin is first graded E or F, we log its price at that moment and track how it moves afterwards.
We only started grading on 21 October 2026, so it is too early to say how well the grades work. Every coin we have graded E or F in the last 7 days, and how its price has moved since, is shown on the live board. We will publish the results as they build up, good or bad.
We also track survivors: coins still trading 24 hours and 7 days after we first saw them. You can see them on the survivors leaderboard. Surviving is not a recommendation. Plenty of coins survive a week and then collapse.
Why an A never means safe
This is the most important part of this page.
Warning: An A means we did not find the specific warning signs we look for. It does not mean nobody can sell, that the team is honest or that the price will hold.
The checks cannot see wallets that insiders have kept unlinked, a team selling slowly over days, bots faking volume, paid promotion, or attention simply moving on. Many coins collapse without ever showing a red flag. Read can a coin that passes every check still rug for the full list.
An F is a strong warning. An A is the absence of warnings we know how to detect. Those are not the same thing.
If you think a grade is wrong
Our grades are only as good as the data behind them. If RugCheck, DexScreener or GeckoTerminal reports something wrong, our grade will be wrong too. If you spot a mistake, tell us through the contact page. Our corrections policy explains what happens next, and the full method sets out every rule in detail.
Related
- Can a coin that passes every check still rug?
- What is a rug pull? The main types on Solana
- What is a bundled launch, and how to spot one
- Mint authority and freeze authority explained