Every token has a supply. If the contract has a working mint function, or on Solana a live mint authority, someone can create more tokens whenever they like. Your 1% of the supply becomes 0.01% overnight, and the price falls to match.
Why it matters more than it sounds
A creator who can mint doesn't need a honeypot. They can print a huge batch, sell it into the pool, and walk away. Holders see the price collapse and only later learn the supply quietly tripled.
What good looks like
- On Ethereum-style chains: no mint function, or the owner has renounced ownership so no one can call it.
- On Solana: mint authority revoked. This is a one-time, permanent step and serious projects do it at launch.
Green flag"Mint authority revoked" or "Ownership renounced" means nobody can print more. It's one of the strongest signals a token isn't set up to rug.