BNB Chain Records $1.5 Billion Impact from Sandwich Attacks

In Brief:

Over 35.5% of BNB Chain blocks on December 1 contained sandwich attacks, affecting $1.5 billion in trading volume across 43,400 transactions.

Attackers exploited DEX users by inflating token prices through MEV bots, highlighting vulnerabilities in blockchain infrastructure.

Experts recommend liquidity incentives, private relayers, and DEX safeguards to mitigate such attacks.

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Sandwich attacks on the BNB Smart Chain reached unprecedented levels on December 1, with over a third of all blocks containing transactions targeted by the exploit. These attacks affected $1.5 billion in trading volume across 43,400 transactions in a single day, as per Dune Analytics data.

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The rising prevalence of sandwich attacks highlights vulnerabilities within decentralized exchanges (DEXs), where attackers manipulate transaction order to profit at the expense of other users. Automated maximal extracted value (MEV) bots enable this exploit, taking advantage of how DEX infrastructure processes transactions in the public mempool.

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:Industry experts suggest solutions like incentivizing liquidity, splitting trades across pools using DEX aggregators, and employing minimum expected return features to counter such attacks. Users are also encouraged to use private relayers to conceal transactions.

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The surge in sandwich attacks underscores the need for robust security measures within the DEX ecosystem. Protocols and users must adopt better practices to prevent exploitation and safeguard trading activity.

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