Transactions by MEV bots put every crypto trader at risk, but services like Flashbots RPC can help you. But there’s also some things you can do yourself, in order to better protect yourself against MEV bots. Let’s start at the basics, and understand what a MEV bot does.
What is MEV and its downsides
Miner Extractable Value (MEV) is a fancy term to describe the sneaky ways in which miners or validators can manipulate transactions on blockchain networks like Ethereum to make a profit. Front-running and sandwich attacks are two common strategies they use. In simple terms, front-running is when MEV bots jump ahead of your transaction to benefit from the price movement, while sandwich attacks happen when bots surround your transaction, forcing you to pay more than you intended. These tactics can have a significant impact on regular users like you and me.
The MEV bot king – jaredfromsubway.eth
In the world of MEV bots, there’s one character who’s been making waves recently: jaredfromsubway.eth. This bot has been gobbling up profits like it’s hoarding footlong subs, spending over $7 million (3,720 ETH) in just two months on gas fees to run its MEV operations. A user on Twitter recently discovered that jaredfromsubway.eth made a whopping 387 ETH in revenue ($696,000) in just a few days! And guess what? This MEV bot is eating your lunch (and probably laughing while doing so). You might say that jaredfromsubway.eth is the sandwich artist of the MEV world.
Protecting yourself from MEV bots with Flashbots RPC
But fear not! You can fight back against these MEV bots by using Flashbots Protect RPC. Here’s how to set it up in a few simple steps:
- Open your MetaMask wallet and click on the network dropdown.
- Select “Add network” to add a new custom RPC.
- Click on “Add a network manually” at the bottom of the screen.
- Enter the Flashbots Protect RPC detailsNetwork name: Flashbots RPCNew RPC URL: https://rpc.flashbots.netChain ID: 1Currency Symbol: ETHBlock Explorer URL: https://etherscan.io
- Network name: Flashbots RPC
- New RPC URL: https://rpc.flashbots.net
- Chain ID: 1
- Currency Symbol: ETH
- Block Explorer URL: https://etherscan.io
- Save the changes and switch to the new network.
Benefits of using Flashbots Protect RPC
By using Flashbots Protect RPC, you’ll enjoy several key benefits:
- Frontrunning protection: Your transaction will be invisible to those greedy sandwich bots lurking in the public mempool.
- No failed transactions: Your transaction will only be included if it doesn’t result in any reverts, saving you money on failed transaction fees.
- Privacy: Flashbots Protect RPC doesn’t track or store any user information (IP, location, etc.).
Additional tips to protect yourself from MEV
In addition to using Flashbots Protect RPC, here are some more tips to safeguard your transactions:
- Keep maximum slippage low when swapping assets to minimize the impact of MEV.
- Limit the gas price you’re willing to pay to reduce the attractiveness of your transaction to MEV bots.
- Use optimized decentralized exchanges (DEXes) like CowSwap that have built-in mechanisms to reduce MEV risks.
By following these tips and using Flashbots Protect RPC, you can take back control and stop MEV bots like jaredfromsubway.eth from eating your lunch. Happy trading!
(By Dragos Dunica)
Read more: https://dappradar.com/blog/protect-yourself-from-mev-bots-with-flashbots-rpc
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