How to check a memecoin before you buy

You found a token. The chart looks good. Your thumb is on Buy.

Stop there for a moment. Six numbers tell you a lot about what you're about to buy: how big it is, whether you could sell it, who holds it, whether more can be printed, how new it is and who's trading it. This guide explains each one in plain words: what it is, why it matters, what a worrying number looks like and what the number can't tell you.

You can check these metrics yourself on free sites. fomoGPT explains the available data from one screenshot, with sources and fetch times. Either way, check before you tap.

Before the checks: is it the right token?

Many tokens share the same ticker. On 17 October 2026, a Dexscreener search for "FTR" returned 5 different tokens on Solana and Robinhood Chain. If you check the wrong one, all six numbers below are about the wrong token.

What to match: the CA (contract address: the token's unique ID on its blockchain) and the chain. A ticker alone isn't enough. fomoGPT shows you up to 3 candidates with their ticker, chain and address, and nothing runs until you confirm the one you saw.

1. Market cap

What it is. Price × tokens in circulation. It's the size of the token, in dollars.

Why it matters. A tiny price per token doesn't make a token cheap. One billion tokens at $0.00001 each is a $10,000 market cap. Market cap helps you compare token valuations. Liquidity determines how much a trade can move the pool price.

What to look for. There's no "good" market cap, so fomoGPT doesn't color this one. Compare it with your screenshot: if the number changed, the price moved since you saw it.

What it can't tell you. Whether the price is fair, or where it goes next.

2. Liquidity

What it is. The money sitting in the pools where the token trades. It's what lets you sell. fomoGPT adds up its pools returned by its source and estimates what you'd get if you sold $1,000 in the main pool.

Why it matters. Buying is easy. Getting out is the hard part. With low liquidity, your own sale pushes the price down, and you get less than the price on the screen.

What to look for. fomoGPT's rule: if selling $1,000 would get you less than 1% under the shown price, the check is green. From 1% to 3%, orange. More than 3%, red. If you plan to sell more than $1,000, expect a bigger gap.

What it can't tell you. Whether the liquidity is locked. Unlocked liquidity can be pulled out of the pool. fomoGPT doesn't check this. The $1,000 figure is an estimate: fees, other trades and how the exchange works change the real result.

3. Top 10 holders

What it is. The share of supply held by the largest token accounts reported by the data source. Accounts are not people. Provider methods and excluded addresses can differ.

Why it matters. If a few accounts hold a big share and sell, the price can drop fast, and your liquidity check from step 2 shows how fast.

What to look for. fomoGPT's rule: under 20% is green, 20% to 50% orange, 50% or more red.

What it can't tell you. Who they are. These are token accounts, not people. One person can own several accounts. One account can be a pool or an exchange holding for thousands of users. fomoGPT doesn't check who owns them. This check is available on supported chains, depending on provider coverage and the data returned for the token. Some checks may be unavailable.

4. New tokens (minting)

What it is. Whether someone can still create, or "mint", more of this token.

Why it matters. New tokens water yours down. Your share of the total gets smaller, and so can its value.

What to look for. "Can't be created" is green. "Can be created" is red. If the authority cannot be checked, treat it as an unanswered question, not as confirmation that minting is disabled.

What it can't tell you. Whether anyone will actually mint more. And minting is only one of the powers a creator can keep: this check doesn't cover the others. Same chains as Top 10 holders.

5. Trading for

What it is. How long the token's main pool has been trading. That's the age of the pool, not of the token.

Why it matters. A very new pool has little history. Less history means less to judge it by.

What to look for. Under 30 days, fomoGPT flags it orange: very new. Older pools aren't colored as good, only shown.

What it can't tell you. Where the price goes next. A long history doesn't make a token safe.

6. Trades 24h buy / sell

What it is. How many buys and how many sells happened in the main pool over the last 24 hours.

Why it matters. It's a quick picture of what's happening right now: are people mostly buying or mostly selling?

What to look for. fomoGPT flags it orange when sells outnumber buys by more than 1.5 to 1. Many more buys isn't flagged as good: it's a count, not a verdict.

What it can't tell you. Size. One big sell can outweigh a hundred small buys. Some trades can come from bots.

What no tool can tell you

Six checks make the picture clearer. They don't make a decision safe.

• Where the price goes next. No number here predicts it, and fomoGPT never tries.
• Who's behind the token and what they plan to do. Data shows wallets and pools, not intentions.
• That a token isn't a scam. A token can pass every check and still go to zero.
• That the data is complete. Sources can miss things or update late. That's why fomoGPT shows the source and time of every available figure. Some checks may be unavailable, and the summary can flag important gaps.
• What happens after the snapshot. Numbers move. An analysis is a picture of one moment.

Crypto is risky. You can lose everything you put in. Only use money you can afford to lose.