# Ethereum Contract Risk Heuristics

> Ethereum Contract Risk Heuristics is a paid API for AI agents from automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-16).

Returns heuristic risk flags for an Ethereum smart contract address using free public data, including Sourcify verification status, proxy/admin detection, owner type, dangerous selectors, and bytecode size.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app/v1/ethereum/contract-risk?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-16
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/ethereum-contract-risk-heuristics-569fd637
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_MXnwvNaDR1jZYgaSln_bm

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability ethereum-contract-risk-heuristics-569fd637
```

Example prompt: Can you check the risk flags on the Ethereum contract at 0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7 — I want to know if it's Sourcify-verified, whether it's an upgradeable proxy, and if it has any mint, pause, or blacklist functions?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a quick, low-cost ($0.01) heuristic risk snapshot of a specific Ethereum mainnet contract using only free public data — ideal for pre-interaction safety checks in DeFi agents, wallet UX warnings, or automated contract screening pipelines. Prefer it over a full audit service when speed and cost matter more than exhaustive analysis, or when you need machine-readable risk flags rather than a narrative report.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or non-checksummed Ethereum address returns a 400 error
- Address is an EOA (externally owned account), not a contract — may return empty or minimal results
- Contract not indexed or very new — Sourcify verification may be unavailable
- Rate limiting or upstream public RPC unavailability causing 5xx errors
- Bytecode may be identical to a known contract but unverified, leading to incomplete flags

## How this service works

Heuristic risk flags for a Ethereum contract from free public data: Sourcify verification, upgradeable proxy + admin, owner type, mint/pause/blacklist/fee selectors, bytecode size. Not an audit or financial advice.

## Output

Returns a structured set of heuristic risk flags for the given Ethereum contract address, including: whether the contract is verified on Sourcify, whether it implements an upgradeable proxy pattern with an admin address, the type of contract owner (EOA, multisig, etc.), presence of dangerous function selectors (mint, pause, blacklist, fee), and the compiled bytecode size. Results are heuristic indicators only, not a full security audit.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "address"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "address": {
       "type": "string",
       "pattern": "^0x[0-9a-fA-F]{40}$",
       "description": "Ethereum contract address"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/ethereum-contract-risk-heuristics-569fd637/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app](https://www.zero.xyz/host/automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app/llms.txt)