I just discovered a pretty serious issue that many community members haven't paid attention to — MEV bots are secretly extracting profits from our transactions every day.

What is an MEV bot? Simply put, these are automated bots operating on the blockchain to find profit opportunities by manipulating transaction orderings. On Ethereum, this problem is especially severe because these bots can front-run, back-run, or insert themselves between large DeFi transactions.

There are quite a few different types of MEV bots in operation. Price arbitrage bots look for price differences across various DEXes. Sandwich bots buy before a large transaction and sell afterward to profit. Front-running bots prioritize getting their transactions ahead of other large trades. Additionally, there are monitoring bots, flash loan bots, and over 30 other types I’ve found.

The most concerning part is: what exactly are MEV bots, and why are they so effective? It’s because these bots can react faster than humans, often within just a few milliseconds.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself. First, reduce slippage tolerance — although this doesn’t guarantee 100% protection, it can help mitigate risks. Second, trade on high-liquidity pools, since MEV bots rely on price differences; larger pools lessen the impact of a single transaction on the price. Third, use tools like Flashbots Protect — just access, click setup, and add it to your wallet. If that doesn’t work, you can try MEV Blocker by adding an RPC that blocks MEV.

On the Solana network, the situation is a bit different. I recommend keeping slippage below 1.5-2% to avoid MEV bots. Additionally, tools like Trojan or Maestro offer good MEV resistance on SOL. Currently, SOL is at $82.83, making it a good time to consider protecting your assets on this chain.

By the way, I’m also preparing to write about MEV issues on BSC, as it’s becoming increasingly common.

In summary, what is an MEV bot and why should you care? Because it’s silently extracting our assets every day. Understanding this and taking basic protective steps is essential to minimize risks. Raising awareness and acting early is key.