MEV Analysis for Solana DEX Trading

Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) is the profit that validators and searchers can extract by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions within a block. On Solana DEXes, MEV primarily manifests as sandwich attacks against swaps, cross-DEX arbitrage, and liquidation extraction. This skill covers detection, estimation, and protection strategies.

What Is MEV on Solana?

MEV occurs when someone with transaction ordering power profits at other traders' expense. On Solana, the MEV supply chain works as follows:

1. You submit a swap through an RPC endpoint
2. Searchers observe your transaction (via RPC forwarding, block engine access, or leader TPU sniffing)
3. Searcher constructs a profitable bundle (e.g., sandwich your swap)
4. Bundle submitted to Jito block engine with a tip to the validator
5. Validator includes the bundle in the block, earning the tip
6. You receive worse execution; the searcher profits the difference

How Solana MEV Differs from Ethereum