The
Solana
Foundation
has
expelled
a
number
of
validator
operators
from
its
influential
delegation
program.
This
action
is
attributed
to
their
involvement
in
executing
“sandwich
attacks”
against
unsuspecting
network
users,
a
form
of
predatory
trading
that
undermines
network
integrity.
The
decision
adds
a
new
layer
to
the
escalating
rivalry
between
Solana
and
Ethereum,
highlighting
broader
concerns
over
network
governance
and
the
ethical
dimensions
of
validator
operations.

Tim
Garcia,
the
Validator
Relations
Lead,
made
the
announcement
via
Discord,
emphasizing
the
finality
of
the
Foundation’s
decision:
“A
group
of
operators
in
the
Solana
Foundation
Delegation
Program
have
been
removed
from
the
program
due
to
violations
[…]
Decisions
in
this
matter
are
final.
Enforcement
actions
are
ongoing
as
we
detect
operators
participating
in
mempools
which
allow
sandwich
attacks.”

 

Mert
Mumtaz,
founder
and
CEO
of
Helius
Labs,
provided
a
detailed

explanation
of
the
issues
at
hand.
He
described
a

sandwich
attack
as
a
manipulative
trading
strategy
where
malicious
actors
exploit
the
ordering
of
transactions
to
disadvantage
retail
investors,
ensuring
they
receive
the
worst
possible
prices.

“This
is
not
natively
possible
on
Solana
because
the
client
does
not
have
a
mempool,”
Mumtaz
explained.
“Certain
actors
have
added
mods
to
their
validators
to
enable
sandwiching
on
Solana.”
He
stressed
that
the
SOL
Foundation’s
primary
goal
is
to
protect
retail
users
from
these
attacks,
reinforcing
that
while
the
ousted
operators
can
still
function
on
the
network,
they
will
no
longer
benefit
from
Foundation
subsidies.

Solana
Vs.
Ethereum
Rivalry
Heats
Up

The
incident
has
drawn
sharp
criticism
from
Ethereum
community
stalwarts,
including
Ryan
Berckmans,
an
esteemed
investor
known
as
ryanb.eth.
He
critiqued
SOL’s
approach
to
solving
issues
related
to
MEV,
questioning
the
network’s
seriousness
as
a
settlement
layer.

“The
Solana
Foundation
provides
financial
support
to
many
validators
because
running
a
Sol
validator
costs
$65k+/year.
Now,
the
next
step
in
their
plan
to
solve

 

MEV
was
to
pull
financial
support
from
validators
who
extract
MEV.
Solana
is
not
a
serious
settlement
layer,”
Berckmans

asserted.

Countering
Berckmans’
criticisms,
Mumtaz
highlighted
the
financial
and
operational
disparities
between
Solana
and
Ethereum
validators.
“You
haven’t
done
the
work
required
to
have
an
informed
opinion,”
Mumtaz
retorted,
pointing
out
that
while
Solana
validators
have
lower
setup
costs
compared
to
Ethereum’s
32
ETH

minimum
stake
requirement.

“Perhaps
you’re
forgetting
that
with
the
32
ETH
minimum,
it
costs
~120kfor
Eth,
double
Solana
—
*and*
while
SOL
validator
revenue
has
surpassed
Eth
multiple
times
in
the
past
month.
this
isn’t
pulling
“support
from
validators
doing
mev,”
he
stated
and
clarified
that
the
SOL
Foundation
is
“simply
not
giving
out
subsidies
to
malicious
validators
who
sandwich,
who
rob
retail
and
then
keep
all
the
rewards
with
0
network/in-protocol
distribution—it’s
purely
extractive.”

Furthering
the
dialogue,
Lucas
Bruder,
CEO
of
Jito
Labs,

defended
the
Foundation’s
position,
emphasizing
the
alignment
of
interests
between
the
Foundation
and
the
broader
network.
“The
Solana
foundation
is
a
staker
on
the
network.
Stakers
should
want
to
see
the
network
be
successful.
Why
would
they
support
something
that
decreases
the
likelihood
of
the
network
being
successful?”
he
posited.

However,
Bruder
also
acknowledged
the
predominant
nature
of
memecoin
trading
and
the
potential
risks
of
alienating
this
user
base.
“Most
activity
on
Solana
is

 

memecoin
trading,
so
if
you
screw
over
the
main
user
base
of
the
blockspace,
they’ll
leave
and
we’ll
all
be
sitting
here
with
less
usage
wondering
why
tf
we
didn’t
do
anything,”
he
argued,
stressing
the
need
for
long-term
solutions
to
network
challenges.

Ryan
Berckmans
doubled
down
on
his
critique,
stating:
“So
if
the
Solana
Foundation
doesn’t
use
their
centralized
power
to
incentivize
validators
to
stop
extracting
max
MEV,
then
memecoin
traders
may
get
fed
up
and
switch
to
a
fast
cheap
chain
with
less
potential
for
MEV
extraction,
like
the
Base
Ethereum
L2,
and
then
Solana
would
be
a
ghost
chain.
I
think
this
story
writes
itself.
The
SOL/ETH
ratio
vastly
overstates
Solana’s
durability
as
a
serious
competitor
to
either
the
Eth
L1
or
our
best
L2s.”

This
ongoing
debate
underscores
the
heated
rivalry
between
SOL
and
ETH
as
well
as
the
complexity
of
governance
in
decentralized
networks,
the
technical
challenges
associated
with
MEV,
and
the
strategic
decisions
that
can
significantly
impact
the
perceptions
and
functionality
of
blockchain
ecosystems.

At
press
time,
SOL
traded
at
$158.03.

Featured
image
from
CoinDCX,
chart
from
TradingView.com

Go to Source
Author: Jake Simmons

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