MEV Sandwich Bot arsc Rakes in 30 Million from Solana Users in Two Months

MEV Sandwich Bot ‘arsc’ Rakes in $30 Million from Solana Users in Two Months


Ruholamin Haqshanas
Published:
June 17, 2024 00:35 EDT
|
2 min read


In just two months, the infamous maximal extractible value (MEV) sandwich bot known as “arsc” has managed to pocket around $30 million by taking advantage of Solana users through MEV attacks.
MEV sandwich attacks occur when an attacker strategically places their transactions around a victim’s transaction, manipulating prices to benefit themselves.
By buying the victim’s tokens at a lower price than the market value and quickly selling them within the same block, these attackers profit from the situation.
Profits Accumulated by MEV Bot ‘arsc’
On June 15, Ben Coverston, the founder of cryptocurrency firm MRGN Research, shed light on the actions of the MEV sandwich bot “arsc,” which has been quietly accumulating profits from unsuspecting Solana network users.
Coverston highlighted that the bot, operating primarily from a wallet address labeled “9973h…zyWp6,” seems to be using a cold storage strategy to protect its funds.
“It appears to be quite inactive and, based on its behavior, is likely a secured, cold wallet,” Coverston explained.
Currently, this wallet holds over $19 million in total funds, with approximately $17 million in Solana tokens and $1.1 million in Circle’s USD Coin stablecoin.
In addition to this, smaller amounts of wrapped-SOL (wSOL), Cringe Coin (CRINGE), and Kabosu (KAB) are also present in the wallet.
Another wallet of interest, identified as “Ai4zq…VXKKT,” is more actively engaged in decentralized finance activities, according to Coverston.
He noted that this wallet is gradually converting SOL into USDC through JUP DCA and holds significant positions in Kamino and various LSTs. This wallet holds over $9.9 million in total funds, mostly comprising non-SOL tokens.
Coverston also pointed out a third wallet address, “BCbrp…vi58q,” which he believes functions as arsc’s “main SOL bank.”
This wallet utilizes multiple signers and tippers to carry out the sandwich attacks.
Together, these three wallets hold a total of $29.8 million at current prices, and the operator behind arsc seems to be actively working to maintain a low profile.
“It appears that they prefer to stay under the radar, as they have recently taken steps to conceal their activities and profits,” Coverston added.
How MEV Sandwich Bots Operate
MEV sandwich bots use advanced algorithms to identify and exploit these profit opportunities.
Similar activities have been observed among maximal extractible value bots on Ethereum as well.
Research from MEVBlocker indicates that over $1.38 billion had been extracted from well-meaning Ethereum users by April 2023.
Earlier this year, a MEV arbitrage bot operator named 2Fast made a profit of $1.8 million from a single transaction bundle.
Under the control of 2Fast, the bot turned an initial investment of 703 SOL, valued at around $70,000, into a remarkable 19,035 SOL, equivalent to approximately $1.9 million.
An additional 890 SOL was generously tipped to Figment, a prominent network validator.
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