Mint and freeze authority, explained
Mint authority and freeze authority are the two powers a Solana token's creator can keep after launch. One can print unlimited new supply, the other can lock your tokens in your own wallet. Here is what each one does, when it is normal, and how to check it.
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What mint authority does
Mint authority is the address allowed to create new tokens. While it is set, its holder can issue any amount at any time, and new supply sold into the market pushes the price of every existing token down. On an anonymous new token that power has no legitimate use after launch, which is why most honest launches revoke it. Once revoked it is gone for good: no one, including the creator, can ever mint again.
What freeze authority does
Freeze authority is the address allowed to freeze a token account. A frozen account still shows its balance, but the tokens in it cannot be transferred or sold. On a memecoin this is how a deployer can let people buy and then stop them from selling, which makes it one of the most direct ways to trap holders. Like mint authority, it can be revoked permanently.
When these powers are normal
Context decides what the same power means. A regulated stablecoin is expected to keep both: its issuer must be able to mint against new deposits and freeze funds under a court order or a sanctions designation. The identical powers on an anonymous token are how holders get diluted or trapped. So a check should name the powers it finds and say who holds them, rather than treating every token the same way.
The powers that came after
Tokens built on the newer Token-2022 program can carry further extensions. The most serious is the permanent delegate, an address that can move tokens out of any holder's wallet without their signature, which is arguably worse than a freeze because it takes the tokens rather than trapping them. A transfer fee and a transfer hook can also apply to every transfer. These live in the same mint account and are checked the same way.
How to check it yourself
All of this is public. A block explorer shows a token's mint account, including whether mint and freeze authority are set and to which address. Our Rug Checker reads the mint account directly from the chain rather than from a cached index, so it reports what is true now, and it also reads the Token-2022 extensions and the exact transfer fee rate. It needs only the token's address.
FAQ
Can a revoked mint authority be restored?
No. Revoking sets the authority to nothing, and the token program has no way to set it again. That permanence is exactly why a revoked authority is worth something.
My tokens show a balance but will not sell. Is that a freeze?
It can be. A frozen token account keeps its balance and refuses transfers. It can also be a pool with no liquidity left or a heavy transfer fee, so check the mint account for an active freeze authority and check the pool before concluding which one it is.
Is a token with an active freeze authority always a scam?
No. Stablecoins and other regulated assets keep it on purpose. On an anonymous new token it is a serious warning, because there it has no legitimate use beyond stopping holders from selling.