Locked liquidity explained: what it means for a meme coin

"Liquidity locked" is one of the first things people check on a new coin. Here is what it means, why it matters and what it doesn't cover.

What liquidity is

A DEX pool holds two things: the coin and the money it trades against, such as USDC or ETH. When you sell, you take money from the pool. More liquidity means bigger trades move the price less. See market cap vs FDV vs liquidity.

Locked vs burned

• Unlocked: whoever added the liquidity can remove it at any time. This is how the classic rug pull works.
• Locked: the pool's liquidity tokens sit in a contract until a set date.
• Burned or locked forever: nobody can ever withdraw it.

How launchpads handle it

Most launchpads create the pool themselves at graduation and lock or burn its liquidity, so the creator never controls it. On sasa, the graduation pool's liquidity is locked forever. Before graduation there is no pool at all: the bonding curve itself buys and sells. Graduation explained.

How to check a coin's liquidity

1. Find the pool on the coin page or a block explorer.
2. See who holds the liquidity tokens: a lock contract, a burn address, or a normal wallet.
3. If it's a lock, check the unlock date.

What locked liquidity doesn't protect you from

• Big holders selling: a creator or bundle with a large bag can still crash the price. See bundled launches.
• Interest fading: volume can dry up even with a locked pool.
• Honeypots and tax tricks on custom contracts; launchpad coins use standard contracts.