How Crypto Traders Grapple with Solana Sandwich Attacks

In a move to combat disruptive trading practices, crypto traders have collectively invested over $9.5 million in recent weeks to safeguard Solana transactions against “sandwich attacks.” 

This phenomenon, prevalent in blockchain ecosystems, involves bots exploiting transaction latency by placing their own orders before and after a target transaction to manipulate market prices.

Crypto Traders Want to Stop Solana Sandwich Attacks

Jito, a prominent security provider within the Solana network, has been at the forefront of offering protective measures. The company facilitates a service where users pay a nominal fee to have their transactions bundled and processed privately. 

This approach effectively shields them from predatory bots seeking profit through sandwich attacks. The urgency of addressing these attacks stems from their growing impact on retail traders and the broader Solana community. 

Sandwich attacks are a nuisance and a significant threat to the financial integrity of blockchain transactions. By manipulating transaction orders, attackers inflate token prices momentarily, profiting from subsequent sales post-victim trade execution. 

This practice, known as maximal extractable value (MEV), has been identified as one of the major issues currently plaguing Solana.

Concerns have also arisen about the role of Solana validators. Some community members accuse them of using their delegated stake to participate in sandwich attacks, exacerbating the problem. This has sparked calls for greater transparency and accountability from Solana developers.

“Solana validators who are using delegation stake to literally rob retail via sandwich attacks: be warned,” Helius CEO said.

Read more: A Beginner’s Guide to Sandwich Attacks in DeFi

As one of the most explosive cryptos, Solana has seen a price surge in value by 599.92% over the past year, fueled largely by the meme coin frenzy. However, the price of Solana’s native token, SOL, has experienced a recent dip of 3.52%, despite a 20.53% gain in the past week, highlighting the volatile nature of the crypto market.