An unlucky Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) bot took out a massive $11.9 million flash loan for a sandwich attack but barely made enough to cover a meal.
In a post on September 5, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence revealed that the MEV bot borrowed $11.97 million in Wrapped Ether (WETH) to sandwich a user attempting to swap $5,000 worth of Shuffle (SHFL) tokens. Despite the high stakes, the bot earned just $20 in profit after paying gas fees.
The bot executed 14 transactions during the attack, lending and borrowing over $700,000 in USDC and WETH across DeFi platforms like Aave and Uniswap. All transactions were confirmed in a single block, meaning the bot completed them in 12 seconds.
How a Sandwich Attack Works
A sandwich attack happens when an attacker places two transactions around a victim’s trade. The attacker manipulates the price by buying before the victim and selling after, pocketing the difference. In this case, the MEV bot’s profits were significantly underwhelming.
However, MEV bots have made big money in the past. In April 2023, a bot operator named jaredfromsubway earned over $1 million in just one week using sandwich attacks on PEPE and WOJAK tokens.
Despite this bot’s failure, MEV attacks remain a highly profitable tool for many operators.