A liquidity pool is a smart contract holding two or more assets against which traders swap, with prices set by a formula rather than an order book. Whoever controls the pool's deposits controls whether anyone can sell.
manipulation techniques · updated 2026-09-08
Where does liquidity pool come up?
This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on
its own page.
Rug pulls— A rug pull is a crypto scheme in which the operators withdraw the liquidity backing a token, or mint unlimited new supply, leaving holders with an asset that cannot be sold at any price.
Sandwich attacks and MEV— A sandwich attack places one transaction immediately before a victim's pending swap and another immediately after it, moving the pool price so that the victim trades at a worse rate and the attacker keeps the difference.
Automated market maker— An automated market maker prices swaps from the ratio of assets in a pool using a fixed formula, with no order book and no discret…
Rug pull— A rug pull is a crypto scheme in which the developers withdraw the liquidity backing a token, or mint unlimited new supply, leavin…