Ethereum

Solana

when

April

The infamous maximal extractible value (MEV) sandwich bot known as “arsc” has pocketed around $30 million from Solana users in the last two months through MEV attacks. 
An MEV sandwich attack occurs when an attacker “sandwiches” a victim’s transaction between their own two transactions in order to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/what-is-mev-ethereums-invisible-tax">manipulate the price and profit</a> from the user. They profit by buying the victim’s token at a price cheaper than market value and then sell it in the same block.
Ben Coverston, founder of cryptocurrency firm MRGN Research, <a href="https://x.com/HypoNyms/status/1802100849398997496" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> in a June 15 post on X that this particular sandwich bot, arsc, has “gone to great lengths” to avoid attention while raking in profits from Solana network users.
One of the bot’s largest wallet addresses is “9973h…zyWp6,” which Coverston believes is primarily being used for cold storage. 
“It is quite inactive and, judging by its behavior, is almost certainly a locked-down, cold wallet,” Coverston said. 
<a href="https://solana.fm/address/9973hWbcumZNeKd4UxW1wT892rcdHQNwjfnz8KwzyWp6/transactions" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">According</a> to Solana explorer site SolanaFM, the wallet holds a little over $19 million in total funds, which includes $17 million worth of Solana’s SOL (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/solana-price-index">SOL</a>) tokens and $1.1 million in Circle’s USD Coin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index">USDC</a>) stablecoin.
It also holds small amounts of wrapped-SOL (wSOL), Cringe Coin (CRINGE) and Kabosu (KAB). 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/01a01878-4847-4f62-b026-e769b1c29216.png" alt="" title="">
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 Source: SolanaFM
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Another main wallet, with the address “Ai4zq…VXKKT,” is far more active in decentralized finance activities, Coverston said. “It’s gradually converting SOL into USDC via JUP DCA and holds significant positions in Kamino and various LSTs.”
It holds over $9.9 million in total funds, which mostly comprise non-SOL tokens, <a href="https://solana.fm/address/Ai4zqY7gjyAPhtUsGnCfabM5oHcZLt3htjpSoUKvxkkt/transactions" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to SolanaFM. 
Coverston <a href="https://x.com/HypoNyms/status/1802100849398997496" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">identified</a> a third wallet address, “BCbrp…vi58q,” which he believes is arsc’s “main SOL bank,” as it uses dozens of different signers and tippers <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-mev-bot-pulls-1-7-m-profit-from-a-single-dogwifhat-trade">to commit the sandwich attacks. </a>
The three wallets hold a combined $29.8 million at current prices, and Coveston believes the operator behind arsc seems to be trying to keep a low profile. 
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “It seems they don’t enjoy the attention, as they’ve recently gone to great lengths to hide their activities and profits.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-illustrates-dark-side-monolithic-blockchains">Solana illustrates the dark side of monolithic blockchains</a>
MEV sandwich bots often <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/known-plaintext-attacks-explained">use intelligent algorithms</a> to identify and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sandwich-trading-bots-lose-bread-and-butter-in-25m-exploit">exploit these opportunities for profit.</a> They are <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-validator-cashes-in-689-eth-from-mev-boost-relay">a common activity</a> among MEV bots on Ethereum, too.
Over $1.38 billion had been wiped from “well-meaning” Ethereum users on or before April 2023, according to MEVBlocker.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/5-risks-apeing-new-solana-memecoins/">5 dangers to beware when apeing into Solana memecoins</a>

Solana sandwich bot makes $30M from MEV arbitrage in 2 months

Cointelegraph

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