MEV Sandwich Bot ‘arsc’ Earns $30 Million in Two Months from Solana Users
In only two months, the renowned maximum extractible value (MEV) sandwich bot “arsc” made $30 million abusing Solana users.
MEV sandwich attacks include an attacker manipulating pricing and profiting by positioning their own transactions around a victim's.
They benefit by buying the victim's tokens below market value and selling them in one block.
Making Money with MEV Bot
Ben Coverston, founder of cryptocurrency business MRGN Research, revealed the operations of this sandwich bot, “arsc,” which has been secretly profiting off Solana network members on June 15.
Coverston observed that the bot, using the wallet address “9973h…zyWp6,” seemed to be using cold storage to protect its assets.
“It is quite inactive and, judging by its behaviour, is almost certainly a locked-down, cold wallet,” Coverston said.
This wallet owns almost $19 million, including $17 million in Solana tokens and $1.1 million in Circle's USD Coin stablecoin.
The wallet also contains lesser quantities of wrapped-SOL (wSOL), Cringe Coin (CRINGE), and Kabosu (KAB).
Another notable wallet, “Ai4zq…VXKKT,” is quite active in decentralized finance, according Coverston.
He said the wallet is steadily converting SOL into USDC via JUP DCA and owns large Kamino and LST stakes. Most of this wallet's $9.9 million is non-SOL tokens.
Coverston identified a third wallet address, “BCbrp…vi58q,” as arsc’s suspected “main SOL bank.”
The wallet uses several signers and tippers for sandwich assaults.
Based on current pricing, these three wallets possess $29.8 million, and arsc's operator seems to be attempting to hide.
“It seems they don't enjoy the attention, as they've recently gone to great lengths to hide their activities and profits,” Coverston said.
