Smart contracts carry inherent risks including bugs in code, unlimited token minting capabilities, liquidity pool manipulation, and owner controls that can drain funds. HonestToken mitigates these through audits, renounced ownership, and locked liquidity, while DegenRugToken deliberately exposes all these risks for research purposes.
Yes, this experiment uses real cryptocurrency on actual blockchains. Any participation involves real financial risk and potential loss. This is not a simulation - both tokens are deployed smart contracts with real economic consequences.
This is the core research question. Despite transparent disclosure of extreme risks, some investors are attracted to chaos, speculation, or the novelty of an "honest scam." The psychology of risk-taking in cryptocurrency markets often defies rational economic theory.
The 25% import and 69% export tariffs are collected by the smart contract and controlled by the owner. This is intentionally designed as the worst possible tokenomics to study if transparency alone prevents participation in obvious scams.
Yes, absolutely. With HonestToken, market forces can still cause total loss. With DegenRugToken, the owner can literally drain all liquidity at any time through the built-in rug pull functions. This experiment involves genuine financial risk.
No. This is a behavioral psychology research experiment. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Consult qualified professionals before making any financial decisions.
We present two completely transparent options with opposite risk profiles. By tracking which token people choose despite full disclosure, we study decision-making patterns, risk tolerance, and whether transparency affects participation in obvious scams.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) transparency means all smart contract code, tokenomics, and risks are publicly visible on the blockchain. Our experiment tests whether this transparency actually influences investment behavior or if psychological factors override rational analysis.
Yes. The contract explicitly includes an unlimited minting function controlled by the owner. This is intentionally the worst possible design to study if people still participate when risks are fully disclosed.
HonestToken implements every security best practice: audited code, renounced ownership, locked liquidity, zero fees, and fixed supply. It represents the theoretical "perfect" token to contrast with DegenRugToken's deliberately terrible design.
We collect anonymous behavioral data including which token users choose, calculator usage patterns, and general demographics. No personal information is linked to wallet addresses. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.
The experiment will continue until sufficient data is collected for meaningful analysis, typically 3-6 months. Results will be published in academic journals and made freely available to improve DeFi security education.
These are behavioral patterns in how investors interact with smart contracts, including risk tolerance, FOMO (fear of missing out), trust in audits, and the gambling mentality often seen in DeFi. Our experiment isolates these patterns by controlling for transparency.
Yes, you can interact with both tokens. This itself is interesting data - whether people hedge their bets or commit fully to one philosophy (safety vs chaos) reveals important psychological insights about risk management in crypto.
Preliminary results will be shared on this website as data accumulates. Final research findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at blockchain conferences. All results will be open-access to benefit the entire DeFi community.
Still have questions? Contact our research team at contact@honestvsrug.com