The Solana Foundation has expelled several validators from its delegation program for conducting sandwich attacks on retail users. In a recent Discord announcement, Tim Garcia, the Team Lead of Solana Validator Relations, confirmed the permanent removals due to these operators’ involvement in mempool activities supporting sandwich attacks.
Sandwich attacks involve placing two transactions around a target transaction to manipulate the price and profit from the difference, violating the Solana Foundation’s rules. Mert Mumtaz, co-founder of Helius, explained that this tactic ensures retail traders get the worst possible price, benefiting the validators.
Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) has recently surged on the Solana blockchain, with validator earnings from MEV flipping those of Ethereum in May. One Solana-based protocol, Jito, is projected to generate $25 million in revenue over the next year.
The Solana Foundation will cease delegating to these operators, although they can continue their activities on the permissionless network. This move highlights Solana’s commitment to protecting retail users and maintaining a fair trading environment.
For more details, visit the Discord announcement and related updates from Token Terminal.
