Validators involved in what the foundation considers “malicious activities” will face repercussions under the delegation program, emphasizing a zero-tolerance approach to such behavior.
The Solana Foundation has removed a group of validator operators from its delegation program because they were involved in sandwich attacks against Solana users. This decision ensures that the foundation does not support validators who engage in harmful sandwich attacks targeting retail users.
Solana Foundation Takes Action Against Validator Misconduct
Solana Validator Relations Lead Tim Garcia announced on the Solana Foundation’s Discord server the removal of validator operators involved in sandwich attacks against Solana users. Garcia emphasized the finality of the decisions and ongoing enforcement actions as the foundation continues to uncover operators allowing mempools that facilitate such attacks.
Mert Mumtaz, co-founder of Solana RPC provider Helius, supports the foundation’s move to protect retail users from validators abusing delegation rules related to Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). MEV issues arise when validators manipulate transaction orderings to maximize their profits, including through front-running and sandwich attacks. These tactics exploit transaction details to profit from price changes, resulting in higher costs and slippage for users.
The Solana Foundation’s proactive measures against validators engaged in such practices underscore its commitment to safeguarding users and upholding the network’s integrity.
Understanding Sandwich Attacks: Sandwich attacks involve placing two transactions around a victim’s transaction to manipulate prices and profit from price differences, exploiting vulnerabilities in transaction execution order.
Solana Foundation’s Stance Against Malicious Activities
The Solana Foundation, as outlined in a May 7 Discord post by Tim Garcia, established strict rules against malicious activities, stating that those found engaging in such behavior would be expelled from the program. This action includes permanently removing their stake from the foundation.
The Solana Foundation Delegation Program supports validators by delegating SOL tokens to them, reducing the need for validators to hold a large amount of tokens themselves. Validators are chosen based on their performance and must adhere to specific guidelines and best practices.
While operators removed from the delegation program can still participate in the blockchain, Solana being a permissionless network allows for continued contributions. However, they will no longer receive SOL tokens staked to them by the foundation.
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