Solana Foundation fights MEV: Malicious sandwich attacks removed from delegation program

The Solana Foundation has announced that several validators participating in malicious sandwich attacks against Solana users will be removed from its delegation program.

"This decision is final. We will continue to monitor the validators involved in sandwich attacks and take enforcement actions," said Tim Garcia, head of validator relations at the Solana Foundation, on Solana Foundation's Discord.

Forced Measures to Protect Solana Users

Solana RPC provider Helius co-founder Mert Mumtaz explained that this action ensures that the foundation does not delegate SOL tokens to validators engaging in harmful activities such as sandwich attacks. These attacks severely violate the rules of the Solana Foundation.

Understanding Sandwich Attacks

A sandwich attack is a type of front-running exploit where an attacker manipulates prices by placing a transaction before and after the victim's trade to profit from it. This exploit not only harms individual users but also undermines trust and efficiency in the Solana network.

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Centralized Crackdown on Malicious Activities

Validator Relations Lead Tim Garcia stated, "Operators engaging in malicious activities, such as participating in private memory pools for sandwich attack transactions or harming Solana users in other ways, will not be tolerated. Anyone found engaging in such activities will be planned to be excluded, and any foundation delegation pledge will be immediately and permanently removed."

What is the Solana Foundation Delegation Program?

The Solana Foundation Delegation Program involves delegating SOL tokens to validators for support, allowing them to operate staking nodes with reduced token holdings. However, validators must adhere to certain standards.

Solution to MEV Issues on Solana

The maximum extractable value (MEV) issues on Solana include front-running and sandwich attacks. The Solana Foundation issues warnings by reclaiming sponsorships. While some in the community view intervention in MEV behaviors on the chain as a centralized practice, the Solana Foundation uses the method of reclaiming delegations to deter, without blocking, malicious actors from serving as nodes, which can be seen as a passive user protection measure.

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