03-13-2025, 09:44 AM
Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K
<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDMvMDE5NThjNGQtNTA0My03YmFhLTgxZTUtNTExMmZhMjhkMTc4.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDMvMDE5NThjNGQtNTA0My03YmFhLTgxZTUtNTExMmZhMjhkMTc4.jpg" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"></p><p>A crypto trader fell victim to a sandwich attack while making a $220,764 stablecoin transfer on March 12 — losing almost 98% of its value to a Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) bot.<p>$220,764 worth of the USD Coin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDC</a>) stablecoin was swapped to $5,271 of Tether (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDT</a>) in eight seconds as the MEV bot successfully front-ran the transaction, banking over $215,500.</p><p><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xee9fcd2b9996e96b642cb4cda47fc140f98fdaf07ee02657743d4bfcc4670106" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Data</a> from Ethereum block explorer shows the MEV attack occurred on <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-are-decentralized-exchanges-and-how-do-dexs-work" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">decentralized exchange </a>Uniswap v3’s USDC-USDT liquidity pool, where $19.8 million <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://app.uniswap.org/explore/pools/ethereum/0x7858E59e0C01EA06Df3aF3D20aC7B0003275D4Bf" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">worth</a> of value is locked.<br></p><figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/01958cd9-e19b-7a62-8876-f924873a55e1" title="" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Details of the sandwich attack transaction. Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xee9fcd2b9996e96b642cb4cda47fc140f98fdaf07ee02657743d4bfcc4670106" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Etherscan</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>The MEV bot front-ran the transaction by swapping all the USDC liquidity out of the Uniswap v3 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/fake-crypto-liquidity-pools-how-to-spot-and-avoid-them" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDC-USDT pool</a> and then put it back in after the transaction was executed, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/JustDeauIt/status/1899869531511660688" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to founder of The DeFi Report Michael Nadeau.</p><p>The attacker tipped <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/two-ethereum-entities-produced-88-blocks-centralization-concerns" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Ethereum block builder</a> “bob-the-builder.eth” $200,000 from the $220,764 swap and profited $8,000 themselves, Nadeau said.</p><p>DeFi researcher “DeFiac” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/TheDEFIac/status/1899875037823345126" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">speculates</a> the same trader using different wallets has fallen victim to a total of six sandwich attacks, citing “internal tools.” They <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/TheDEFIac/status/1899875044383207669" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">pointed</a> out that all funds traveled from borrowing and lending protocol Aave before being deposited on Uniswap.</p><p>Two of the wallets fell victim to an MEV bot sandwich attack on March 12 at around 9:00 am UTC. Ethereum wallet addresses “0xDDe…42a6D” and “0x999…1D215” were <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/sandwich-attacks-in-crypto-explained-how-to-stay-safe" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">sandwich attacked</a> for <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xb403f921671c5f1494153f0b9543a0650ff1212a4b557f2ea53455107c94215c" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">$138,838</a> and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0x636ca7a5f63a6698c82e860e610363e75d97184403fa06f9907243a84e25b68a" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">$128,003</a> in transactions that occurred three to four minutes earlier.</p><p>Both transactors made the same swap in the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/defi-liquidity-pools-explained" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Uniswap v3 liquidity pool</a> as the trader who made the $220,762 transfer. </p><p>Others speculate the trades could be <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bybit-hacker-launders-1-billion-stolen-funds" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">attempts at money laundering</a>.</p><p>“If you have NK illicit funds you could construct a very mev-able tx, then privately send it to a mev bot and have them arb it in a bundle,” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/0xngmi/status/1899781324010914112" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://x.com/0xngmi/status/1899781324010914112">said</a> founder of crypto data dashboard DefiLlama, 0xngmi.</p><p>“That way you wash all the money with close to 0 losses.” </p><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/thorchain-crossroads-decentralized-collides-illicit-activity" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>THORChain at crossroads: Decentralization clashes with illicit activity</strong></em></a></p><p>While initially criticizing Uniswap, Nadeau later <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/JustDeauIt/status/1899944120749318506" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">acknowledged</a> that the transactions didn’t come from Uniswap's front end, which has MEV protection and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/crypto-slippage-how-to-avoid" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">default slippage settings.</a></p><p>Nadeau backtracked on those criticisms after Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams and others clarified the protections Uniswap has in place to fight against sandwich attacks.<br></p><figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/01958cd9-e872-758c-a348-b72088d806a6" title="" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/1899928912395985182" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Hayden Adams</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-fans-obsessed-longevity-biohacking-why/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="markets_outlook" label="Subscription Form: Markets Outlook"></template></p>
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<p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDMvMDE5NThjNGQtNTA0My03YmFhLTgxZTUtNTExMmZhMjhkMTc4.jpg"></p><p><p style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 15px; width:240px;"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDMvMDE5NThjNGQtNTA0My03YmFhLTgxZTUtNTExMmZhMjhkMTc4.jpg" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"></p><p>A crypto trader fell victim to a sandwich attack while making a $220,764 stablecoin transfer on March 12 — losing almost 98% of its value to a Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) bot.<p>$220,764 worth of the USD Coin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDC</a>) stablecoin was swapped to $5,271 of Tether (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDT</a>) in eight seconds as the MEV bot successfully front-ran the transaction, banking over $215,500.</p><p><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xee9fcd2b9996e96b642cb4cda47fc140f98fdaf07ee02657743d4bfcc4670106" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Data</a> from Ethereum block explorer shows the MEV attack occurred on <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/what-are-decentralized-exchanges-and-how-do-dexs-work" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">decentralized exchange </a>Uniswap v3’s USDC-USDT liquidity pool, where $19.8 million <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://app.uniswap.org/explore/pools/ethereum/0x7858E59e0C01EA06Df3aF3D20aC7B0003275D4Bf" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">worth</a> of value is locked.<br></p><figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/01958cd9-e19b-7a62-8876-f924873a55e1" title="" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Details of the sandwich attack transaction. Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xee9fcd2b9996e96b642cb4cda47fc140f98fdaf07ee02657743d4bfcc4670106" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Etherscan</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p>The MEV bot front-ran the transaction by swapping all the USDC liquidity out of the Uniswap v3 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/fake-crypto-liquidity-pools-how-to-spot-and-avoid-them" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">USDC-USDT pool</a> and then put it back in after the transaction was executed, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/JustDeauIt/status/1899869531511660688" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to founder of The DeFi Report Michael Nadeau.</p><p>The attacker tipped <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/two-ethereum-entities-produced-88-blocks-centralization-concerns" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Ethereum block builder</a> “bob-the-builder.eth” $200,000 from the $220,764 swap and profited $8,000 themselves, Nadeau said.</p><p>DeFi researcher “DeFiac” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/TheDEFIac/status/1899875037823345126" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">speculates</a> the same trader using different wallets has fallen victim to a total of six sandwich attacks, citing “internal tools.” They <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/TheDEFIac/status/1899875044383207669" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">pointed</a> out that all funds traveled from borrowing and lending protocol Aave before being deposited on Uniswap.</p><p>Two of the wallets fell victim to an MEV bot sandwich attack on March 12 at around 9:00 am UTC. Ethereum wallet addresses “0xDDe…42a6D” and “0x999…1D215” were <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/sandwich-attacks-in-crypto-explained-how-to-stay-safe" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">sandwich attacked</a> for <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xb403f921671c5f1494153f0b9543a0650ff1212a4b557f2ea53455107c94215c" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">$138,838</a> and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0x636ca7a5f63a6698c82e860e610363e75d97184403fa06f9907243a84e25b68a" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">$128,003</a> in transactions that occurred three to four minutes earlier.</p><p>Both transactors made the same swap in the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/defi-liquidity-pools-explained" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Uniswap v3 liquidity pool</a> as the trader who made the $220,762 transfer. </p><p>Others speculate the trades could be <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bybit-hacker-launders-1-billion-stolen-funds" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">attempts at money laundering</a>.</p><p>“If you have NK illicit funds you could construct a very mev-able tx, then privately send it to a mev bot and have them arb it in a bundle,” <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/0xngmi/status/1899781324010914112" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://x.com/0xngmi/status/1899781324010914112">said</a> founder of crypto data dashboard DefiLlama, 0xngmi.</p><p>“That way you wash all the money with close to 0 losses.” </p><p><em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/thorchain-crossroads-decentralized-collides-illicit-activity" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>THORChain at crossroads: Decentralization clashes with illicit activity</strong></em></a></p><p>While initially criticizing Uniswap, Nadeau later <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/JustDeauIt/status/1899944120749318506" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">acknowledged</a> that the transactions didn’t come from Uniswap's front end, which has MEV protection and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/crypto-slippage-how-to-avoid" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">default slippage settings.</a></p><p>Nadeau backtracked on those criticisms after Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams and others clarified the protections Uniswap has in place to fight against sandwich attacks.<br></p><figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/01958cd9-e872-758c-a348-b72088d806a6" title="" alt="Crypto trader gets sandwich attacked in stablecoin swap, loses $215K"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><p><em>Source: </em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/haydenzadams/status/1899928912395985182" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em>Hayden Adams</em></a></p></figcaption></figure><p><em><strong>Magazine: </strong></em><a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-fans-obsessed-longevity-biohacking-why/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null"><em><strong>Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here’s why</strong></em></a></p><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="markets_outlook" label="Subscription Form: Markets Outlook"></template></p>
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