{
  "slug": "why-token-cannot-be-sold",
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Why Can You Buy a Token but Not Sell It? Honeypots, Transfer Taxes, and Contract Limits",
  "pageUrl": "https://etz-swap.com/blog/why-token-cannot-be-sold",
  "cover": "https://api.etz-swap.com/api/v1/content?path=blog/why-token-cannot-be-sold-cover.jpg",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "ETZ Swap",
    "url": "https://etz-swap.com",
    "logo": "https://api.etz-swap.com/api/v1/content?path=blog/logo.webp"
  },
  "friendlyUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/blog/ai-token-explanations-before-crypto-swap",
      "anchor": "AI token checks before a crypto swap"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/blog/token-approvals-and-permit2-how-wallets-get-drained-after-a-harmless-approve",
      "anchor": "Permit2 and token approval safety"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/blog/crypto-swap-fee-breakdown",
      "anchor": "crypto swap fee breakdown"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/blog/how-instant-crypto-exchange-works",
      "anchor": "how an instant crypto exchange works"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/exchange-pair/btc-btc-xmr-xmr-0.125",
      "anchor": "BTC to XMR route"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/exchange-pair/eth-eth-xmr-xmr-0.125",
      "anchor": "ETH to XMR route"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://etz-swap.com/exchange-pair/usdt-eth-xmr-xmr-100",
      "anchor": "USDT to XMR route"
    }
  ],
  "keyQuestions": [
    "Why can a token be bought but not sold?",
    "How does a honeypot token block ordinary holders from selling?",
    "Can a high sell tax make a token effectively unsellable?",
    "How can blacklists, whitelists, or transaction limits prevent a sale?",
    "Will increasing slippage allow an unsellable token to be sold?",
    "Why can a wallet show a token price when there is no usable exit?",
    "How can a user distinguish a malicious token restriction from a gas, approval, liquidity, or network problem?"
  ],
  "quickSteps": [
    "Confirm the exact token contract and network before changing settings or sending another transaction.",
    "Separate token restrictions from approval, gas, liquidity, slippage, amount, and service-support problems.",
    "Inspect failed transactions, recent sales, administrative powers, fees, pause controls, and upgrade history.",
    "Stop buying, avoid recovery links, and revoke unnecessary approvals created during failed attempts.",
    "Proceed only when the route supports the exact asset and the expected output remains reasonable; otherwise document the case and stop."
  ],
  "issueRouting": {
    "start": "The token appears in the wallet, but a sale, transfer, or swap does not complete.",
    "branches": [
      {
        "if": "The token cannot be transferred to another ordinary wallet",
        "then": [
          "Confirm the exact contract address and network.",
          "Inspect the contract for blacklist, whitelist, pause, fee, transaction-limit, and upgrade controls.",
          "Stop further purchases and document the failed transaction."
        ]
      },
      {
        "if": "Wallet-to-wallet transfers work but the swap fails",
        "then": [
          "Check token approval, native gas balance, slippage settings, amount limits, and route support.",
          "Review the failed transaction and available liquidity.",
          "Use only a service that supports the exact token contract and network."
        ]
      },
      {
        "if": "The sale technically works but the expected output is extremely low",
        "then": [
          "Separate the token sell tax from network fees, price impact, and service pricing.",
          "Check whether the fee can be changed by an owner or administrator.",
          "Do not proceed when the expected result is unreasonable."
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "riskNotes": [
    "A successful purchase does not prove that ordinary holders can sell the token.",
    "A displayed token price does not guarantee usable liquidity or permission to exit.",
    "Extreme slippage cannot bypass a blacklist, paused transfer state, hard contract restriction, or missing liquidity.",
    "Verified source code does not guarantee fair logic, safe administration, or a stable sell tax.",
    "Sending an unsupported contract token to an exchange or swap deposit address can create a separate recovery problem.",
    "Fake unlock, migration, verification, and guaranteed recovery offers may target users who already hold unsellable tokens."
  ]
}