The Solana Foundation has responded vigorously to preserve the integrity and credibility of its ecosystem after many validator operators were discovered to be engaged in sandwich attacks on traders. This dishonest activity has caused long-term trouble for distributed networks.
Solana and Ethereum blockchain network transaction sequencing allows sandwich attacks. In these attacks, a hostile actor orders one before a pending transaction and another right away, influencing the value of the asset to profit from price swings. While the assailant wins, this unethical strategy assures the lowest possible cost for regular investors.
The Solana Foundation’s delegation program kicked the troublesome validators discovered for involvement in mem pools supporting sandwich attacks. Tim Garcia, Solana’s validator relations lead, confirmed their removal on Discord, confirming the Foundation’s zero-tolerance policy regarding such hostile behaviour.
Solana Enforces Stricter Validator Rules
Garcia explains that validators involved in destructive behaviour—including sandwich attacks employing private mem pools—are immediately kicked out of the delegation program. The Solana Foundation Delegation Program assigns SOL tokens, motivating validators to rely less on a sizable token reserve. However, this help comes with tight rules and moral behaviour demands.
Co-founder of Solana RPC Helius Mert Mumtaz underlined the horrible results of operators benefiting from the mistreatment of retail customers. Mumtaz disclosed that some validators have changed their settings to enable sandwiching on SOL, optimising transaction ordering for maximum profits. This shift lets validators gain from pricing adjustments at the expense of slippage for consumers and additional costs.
A recent governance plan, approved with 77% of the vote, will allow SOL validators to pay 100% of priority fees from network transactions. This is meant to motivate validators to solve issues, boost transparency, and prioritise network security and operations. However, certain stakeholders have voiced worries about the proposal’s prospective influence on the network’s inflation rate since May 2023, indicating a possible annual inflation rate of around 9.9% without priority expenses.
Half of the costs from priority transactions were already waived, which raised questions over validators involved in “side deals” seeking more SOL tokens. Usually known as MEV (Maximal Extractable Value), these setups enable validators price control. For example, one transaction bundle generated $1.8 million with MEV, a new arbitrage bot operator called 2Fast.
According to crypto investor Brian Kelly, Solana might be the next to have an ETF in the US. Experts such as Nate Geraci counter that a Solana ETF might not exist until Congress offers a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum or until a Solana futures product is introduced on a significant exchange, generating uncertainty.
The Solana Foundation’s activities against hostile validators demonstrate its dedication to safeguarding retail investors and preserving an honest and transparent system. Such activities will be crucial as the blockchain ecosystem expands, boosting confidence and guaranteeing the long-term survival of distributed platforms.
