How to find and compare (hidden) pools of a farm (Avax)

In this guide we will show you how to check if the number of pools in a farm’s MasterChef contract are equal to the number of pools shown on the website of the farm. This little trick is can help you out deciding if the farm is legit. When the MasterChef contract displays more pools than are shown on the farm’s website, you can bet that there’s foul play. The developers could have created a hidden pool that they use for themselves (with high token rewards), and thus stealing yield from other investors.

Step 1. Find the MasterChef contract address #

In order to check the number of pools of a farm, you need to know its MasterChef contract address. Having troubles finding the MasterChef contract address? Check this guide. If the farm has been reviewed by our team, you can also use our website Rugdoc.io to find the MasterChef contract.

Step 2. Open the contract in the Avalanche block explorer #

Did you manage to find the MasterChef contract? Great! The next step is to open it in the the Avalanche block explorer. In this how-to guide, we will use LittleFarmer’s MasterChef contract.

Once you have opened the MasterChef contract, we need to read it by clicking on the “Read Contract” tab in the explorer.

Step 3. Compare the pools #

Scroll down untill you find a section called ‘poolLength’. The value shown in this section is equal to the amount of pools that are in the farm. In LittleFarmer’s case, the farm has 15 pools.

Now it’s time to check the farm’s website. In this example, we have navigated to LittleFarmer’s farm page. Make sure to count both active and unactive farms and pools. This is due to the fact that from a smart contract’s perspective both farms and pools are counted as pools.

At the time of writing, we have counted 6 farm pools and 9 pools, which makes a total of 15 pools. This checks out with the number of pools stated in LittleFarm’s MasterChef contract, meaning no hidden pools are present. However, be aware that pools can be added later by the developer, so make sure to occasionally compare the website with the MasterChef contract.

Awesome! You have now succesfully checked whether or not a farm has hidden pools. If you found this article helpful, don’t hesitate to share it on social media.