Solana blocked a group of validators for participating in sandwich attacks
Bot-driven disturbances have been plaguing the Solana blockchain for a noticeable period, leading the Solana Foundation to take decisive action against certain validators within its ecosystem.
This was in response to these validators' participation in executing “sandwich attacks” against Solana's users.
On the foundation's Discord official channel, Tim Garcia, who oversees Validator Relations at Solana, announced the definitive nature of these actions. He highlighted the foundation's commitment to continue identifying and penalizing validators involved in mempool activities facilitating sandwich attacks.
Mert Mumtaz, the co-founder of Helius, a key provider for Solana's RPC, explained the rationale behind the decision. The foundation's primary aim is to deter delegations towards validators engaged in unethical practices that victimize everyday users.
Mumtaz elaborated on how sandwich attacks represent a strategy within the category of maximal extractable value (MEV) attacks. These strategies ensure market participants consistently face unfavorable prices, allowing perpetrators to reap undue profits. While Solana's structure inherently counteracts such attempts, certain operators have modified their validators to execute these attacks.
He also anticipated that stake pools might soon implement policies to combat against sandwich attacks.
