You Can Buy the Token. That Does Not Mean You Can Sell It.
Uniswap, Jupiter, and Phantom warn that some tokens can be bought and then cannot be sold. A buy button is not proof of a working sell path.
You Can Buy the Token. That Does Not Mean You Can Sell It.
A memecoin swap can go through on the way in and fail on the way out. Uniswap Labs calls that pattern an unsellable token, often labeled a honeypot. Phantom describes honeypot tokens that appear tradeable. Jupiter documents freeze authority and liquidity removal that can block a sale. A working buy button does not prove the sell path works.
A memecoin is a crypto token often launched as a joke or internet meme and traded mainly on hype. A honeypot, in Uniswap's wording, is an unsellable token designed to block selling. Liquidity is the pool of tokens a swap app uses to fill trades.
What Uniswap means by unsellable
Uniswap Labs says tokens flagged as unsellable are often called honeypots. They are designed to prevent users from selling, often through malicious code. The contract may include a high sell fee, or whitelist and blacklist functions that let only some wallets sell. [1]
Uniswap also describes a follow-on step. After a buyer purchases the token, the creators may remove all liquidity from the pool. Uniswap calls that a rug pull. If it works, the ETH in the pool is taken and the buyer is left holding a token that has no value and cannot be sold. [1]
Uniswap is permissionless. Anyone can create and list tokens without oversight. The help page puts the research burden on the person buying. [1]
The warnings on the swap screen
Uniswap Labs says token warnings are extra information, not investment advice and not a recommendation. They come from Blockaid. Uniswap Labs does not guarantee their accuracy, does not independently verify Blockaid, and cannot change warnings on specific tokens. Data may be missing for newer or less-traded tokens. No tokens are reviewed for quality as investments. [2]
One label is "100% Sell Fee Detected." Uniswap's table says that when you sell this token, the creator receives all of the token's value and you receive none of it. Swapping may result in a loss of funds. A related label, High Buy or Sell fee, means the token charges a high fee when bought or sold. [2]
A Honeypot label means Blockaid flagged the token as a potential honeypot. An Impersonator label means Blockaid flagged an attempt to copy a different token. Uniswap says to use the contract address to confirm you have the token you intended. A Spam label is based on the token's history of on-chain airdrops. [2]
On the sell side, Uniswap says the error "Transaction is expected to fail" is common with unsellable tokens. The message is meant to help you avoid paying network costs for a transaction that will fail. A "100% sell fee" warning is another sign Uniswap lists as likely unsellable. [1]
What Phantom and Jupiter add
Phantom's common-token-scams page says honeypot tokens appear tradeable but are designed so that only certain wallets can sell. Buyers are unable to recover their funds. Wallet addresses are public, so anyone can send tokens to you. Receiving a token does not mean you bought it, and it does not harm the wallet on its own. Risk starts when you engage with it. [4]
If a token appears in your wallet and you did not buy it, Phantom says not to click anything and not to try to swap, sell, or send it. Hide it and report it in Phantom. Phantom also says it will never ask you to claim a reward or connect your wallet to a third-party site. [4]
Jupiter Shield can flag Has Freeze Authority in the trade widget, meaning the authority owner can freeze a token account. Jupiter's risk page also says token creators can remove all liquidity from a pool at any time, making the token untradable. Spot indicators are informational tools, not guarantees of safety. Jupiter does not provide financial advice. [3] Jupiter lists Not Sellable as a JupShield warning on the public verification-submission page, not as a documented trade-widget warning. [7]
What a failed sell does not prove
A failed sell matches the documented honeypot pattern. It can also be a low slippage setting, network congestion, or a wallet error. Uniswap and Jupiter do not diagnose a specific transaction from these pages. A warning from Blockaid or Jupiter Shield is a vendor signal, not a court finding.
What remains unknown
Warnings can be late, missing, or wrong. Uniswap Labs does not control token contracts and does not verify every Blockaid label. Jupiter does not control those contracts either. This article cannot tell you why one swap failed in your wallet.
What to do instead of retrying
Read the on-screen warnings before you confirm. If Uniswap says the transaction is expected to fail, or shows a 100% sell fee, stop retrying. Repeated failed swaps still cost network fees. [1]
Uniswap's unsellable-token page also says to check whether the wallet was compromised, then report the token. It points to Chainabuse, the FTC's fraud report form, and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Do not send a recovery phrase to a site that promises to unlock the token. [1] [5] [6]
Sources
[1] Uniswap Labs, "Unsellable token scams," retrieved September 28, 2026. Defines honeypots, 100% sell-fee warnings, the expected-to-fail error, rug-pull liquidity removal, and reporting links.
https://support.uniswap.org/hc/en-us/articles/17523088290573-Unsellable-token-scams
[2] Uniswap Labs, "What are token warnings?," retrieved September 28, 2026. Explains Blockaid labels, including 100% sell fee, honeypot, impersonator, and spam, and states they are not investment advice.
https://support.uniswap.org/hc/en-us/articles/8723118437133-What-are-token-warnings
[3] Jupiter, "Risks and Limitations," retrieved September 28, 2026. Lists Shield trade-widget warnings including Has Freeze Authority, liquidity removal that can make a token untradable, and the limit that indicators are not safety guarantees.
https://docs.jup.ag/user-docs/trade/spot/risks-and-limitations
[4] Phantom, "Common token scams," retrieved September 28, 2026. Defines honeypot tokens, unsolicited airdrops, and the instruction not to swap or click unexpected tokens.
https://help.phantom.com/hc/en-us/articles/37418827844755
[5] U.S. Federal Trade Commission, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, reporting form named by Uniswap Labs, retrieved September 28, 2026.
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
[6] FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, ic3.gov, reporting form named by Uniswap Labs, retrieved September 28, 2026.
https://www.ic3.gov/
[7] Jupiter, "Token Verification," retrieved September 28, 2026. Lists Not Sellable as a JupShield warning visible on the public submission page, not as a trade-widget warning.
https://docs.jup.ag/user-docs/launch/vrfd/token-verification
Disclosure: This article covers documented warnings from Uniswap Labs, Jupiter, and Phantom. It is not a finding that any named token is a honeypot, and it is not a recovery service. This article is not financial, legal, or investment advice. AI-assisted research and writing. Cited sources, not AI alone, support the claims. The featured illustration was generated for CryptoWorkPro and is not a photograph of a real turnstile or swap.