If a token you bought disappeared from your wallet soon afterwards, or you can't sell it, you may have bought a honeypot token. Its own rules let its creator take the tokens back or stop you from selling them.
Before looking further, confirm that your Relay transaction shows Success and verify the destination and token: see How do I find my transaction?
What is a honeypot token?
A honeypot token is a scam token that you can buy but can't keep or sell. Most are new or little-known tokens, and they usually work in one of two ways:
Taken back:
The tokens arrive in your wallet, then the creator removes them with a transaction of their own, often within seconds. You don't sign anything, and you usually don't see any removal transaction from your wallet.
Stuck:
The tokens arrive, but you can't sell or send them.
Either way, your wallet may still show the tokens, but when you try to swap or send them, the balance shows as 0 or the swap fails.
Check if you bought a honeypot token
If the token disappeared from your wallet, or you can't swap or send it, check these three things:
Check that the transaction shows Success and that the tokens were delivered to your address. If you used Relay, check How do I find my transaction?
Look at your wallet's history, in your wallet app or on a block explorer. You'll see the tokens arrive, but no transaction of yours that sent them out.
Check other tokens in your wallet; only that token is affected, and your other token balances are normal.
If all three are true, you probably bought a honeypot token.
Exception: Some regulated tokens can only be held by approved wallets, and their issuer can freeze them or take them back. You need to contact the token's issuer.
Not every token you can't sell is a honeypot. If the price has collapsed or no swap route is found, the token's liquidity may have been removed, or the token may be too new for swap providers to find a route.
What you can do now
Stop. Don't buy more of the token, and don't pay or sign anything to "unlock" it.
Be wary of recovery offers. Never pay a fee or share your recovery phrase with anyone who offers to get the tokens back.
Check that your wallet is safe using the steps below.
Report the token. If you think it's a scam, you can report it on Chainabuse.
Contact Relay Support if you have questions. Send the link to your Relay transaction and the token's contract address.
Is my wallet safe?
Buying a honeypot token doesn't necessarily mean your wallet is compromised. The token's own rules most likely took it if both of these are true:
Only the token you just bought is gone. Tokens you already held are untouched.
It went moments after you bought it, and you didn't sign anything.
The token's rules don't need your recovery phrase or private key, and they only control that token, so they can't reach your ETH or other tokens.
If tokens you already held are gone too, the cause is more likely a compromised wallet or a spending permission you gave another app. See What To Do If Your Wallet Has Been Compromised.
However, this does not mean that your wallet is safe in every other way. You could still have given a risky approval to another app, including the token's own website, or had your recovery phrase exposed somewhere else.
To stay safe:
If you find a transaction you didn't make: What To Do If Your Wallet Has Been Compromised
Review and revoke token approvals you no longer need: Wallet Hygiene
Check your wallet's activity for anything you didn't do: Using a Block Explorer to Track Your Wallet Activity
Ignore messages offering "claims", "airdrops" or help recovering the token: Don't Get Phished
If other tokens also vanish as soon as they arrive: Malicious EIP-7702 Delegations and How to Stay Safe
Relay can't reverse a completed transaction
If you used Relay, your Relay transaction was complete once the tokens reached your wallet. If they were then taken back, that happened in a separate transaction, under the token's own rules.
Relay can't reverse an onchain transaction once it's confirmed.
Relay has no control over a token's contract, its creator, or what happens to tokens after they reach your wallet.
So Relay can't restore the tokens or recover them for you.
FAQ
My wallet shows the tokens, but my balance is 0 when I try to swap. What's happening?
You most likely have a 0 balance for that token. What you can swap or send is what the token itself allows. Lists and portfolio screens can lag, especially when a token's rules remove tokens without a normal transfer.
Can I get my tokens back, or a refund?
Unfortunately not. Your Relay transaction completed, and the tokens reached your wallet. Relay can't reverse a completed transaction. Relay also doesn't hold your funds: it never takes custody of them, and what you paid was used to buy the token.
Why could I buy it at all?
Anyone can create a token and put it up for trading, and you can buy it via Relay or other apps like any other token.
On relay.link, any token Relay hasn't verified shows an Unverified Token warning when you select it. That includes most new tokens. The warning doesn't mean a token is a scam, only that it hasn't been verified.
If you see this warning:
Check the contract address it shows against the project's official website. Scam tokens often copy a real project's name.
Only continue if you trust the token.
Other wallets and apps may warn you differently.
It was trending. How can it be a scam?
A trending list only shows that people are buying a token. A honeypot can look popular precisely because buyers can't sell.
Was my wallet hacked?
Not necessarily. If only the token you just bought was taken, moments after you bought it, and you didn't sign anything, the token's own rules most likely did it. This does not mean your wallet is safe, either. If tokens you already held are also gone, your wallet may be compromised. See Is my wallet safe? above for what to check.