🔬Honeypot Detection System
The Honeypot Detection System in ProtectAI identifies smart contracts that are built to trap users, especially traders, into sending funds they can’t get back. These contracts often look safe from the outside. They might even allow you to buy a token or interact with it normally. But when you try to sell or withdraw, the contract blocks the action, keeping your funds locked.
ProtectAI’s system is designed to catch these traps before users fall into them. It does this by analyzing how the contract behaves, not just how it looks.
How Honeypots Work
A honeypot in crypto is usually a token or dApp that:
Allows users to buy in
Blocks or fails sell or withdrawal actions
Uses hidden logic to restrict access to funds
Often copies the structure of real tokens to look normal
These scams exploit trust and speed. The contract won’t appear dangerous until it’s too late. Honeypots are especially common in meme coins, fake airdrops, and newly launched tokens with no track record.
How ProtectAI Detects Honeypots
The Honeypot Detection System uses a mix of techniques, known as detection heuristics, to flag suspicious contracts. These are signals based on contract behavior and design patterns.
Here are the main types:
1. Transfer and Swap Failures
ProtectAI simulates common user actions like transferring tokens or swapping them on decentralized exchanges. If those operations fail in the simulation, it raises a red flag.
Why it matters: Some contracts are coded to block transfers or swaps from wallets they don’t control, trapping user funds.
2. Hidden Ownership Functions
Some honeypots hide special control functions. These can:
Give the owner special access
Change token rules after deployment
Block certain wallets
ProtectAI checks whether a contract includes functions that allow the deployer to modify sell rules, change fees, or blacklist addresses without notice.
3. Sell Tax Manipulation
Some scam tokens add extreme sell fees, sometimes over 90 percent, or increase fees after users buy in. This makes it almost impossible to sell without losing everything.
ProtectAI scans for fee-setting logic that can be changed after launch or is already set to harmful levels.
4. Blacklist and Whitelist Logic
If a token contains a wallet whitelist or blacklist, ProtectAI analyzes how it works. Tokens that only allow a few specific wallets to sell or transfer are likely honeypots.
5. Gas Trap Patterns
Certain tokens force transactions to use more gas than needed or intentionally make them revert in a way that wastes gas. This can discourage users from trying to sell or withdraw.
ProtectAI runs simulated interactions to check if these patterns appear.
Simulation Before Warning
ProtectAI doesn’t just look at the contract's structure. It actually simulates what would happen if a normal user tried to:
Buy the token
Sell the token
Transfer the token
If the sell fails, or the transfer is blocked under realistic conditions, ProtectAI classifies the contract as a honeypot and triggers a warning.
This means users get a real-world view of what would happen, without risking their actual funds.
Continuous Learning
Honeypot strategies evolve. As new types of traps emerge, ProtectAI updates its detection system using:
Reports from affected users
Analyst reviews
AI pattern recognition of new variants
This keeps the system current, even as scammers get more creative.
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