Crypto glossary
Liquidity lock (LP lock)
A liquidity lock places a token's DEX liquidity tokens in a time-locked contract so the team cannot withdraw the pool and rug buyers before a set date.
When a team launches a token it usually creates a pool pairing it with ETH, BNB or SOL and receives LP tokens for that deposit. Whoever holds those LP tokens can pull the liquidity at any moment, leaving holders with a token nobody can sell into. Locking them in a third-party locker contract, or burning them outright, removes that option for a stated period or forever.
Lock status is one of the first things memecoin traders check, and scanners, launchpads and DEX screeners display the percentage of liquidity locked and the unlock date. Locks became standard after countless rug pulls in which developers removed the pool hours after launch.
A lock protects only the liquidity it covers. Teams can still dump large token allocations, mint new supply, raise taxes or add unlocked liquidity elsewhere. Short locks simply delay the risk, some locker contracts have their own admin controls, and on concentrated-liquidity DEXs the position is an NFT that must be locked differently.
Example
A memecoin team locks 100% of its LP tokens for 12 months in a public locker, and a scanner shows the unlock date to anyone checking the token.