In a striking instance of blockchain arbitrage, a maximum extractable value (MEV) bot on the Solana network secured a massive profit of $1.7 million in a single transaction involving the memecoin Dogwifhat (WIF). This remarkable gain stemmed from a transaction where a trader inefficiently purchased $8.9 million worth of WIF.
This MEV bot, operated by an entity known as 2fast, executed a savvy trading maneuver. It first exchanged 703 Solana (SOL) for 490,000 WIF and then converted the same amount of WIF back into 19,035 SOL — all within a single transaction bundle. This move resulted in a profit of $1.73 million for the bot, as reported by Solscan.
MEV bots are programmed to scour blockchain networks, identifying and capitalizing on profitable trading opportunities automatically. In this instance, the bot utilized a tool from Jito Labs, which functions similarly to flashbots in the Ethereum ecosystem. This tool enables bots to hunt for maximum extractable value and bid for transaction bundle inclusion.
The lucrative opportunity arose following an enormous single-order purchase of $8.9 million of WIF by a trader identified as zeroxtrading.sol. The transaction was executed in a liquidity-poor pool, causing the buy order to be filled at about $3 per WIF token — significantly higher than the token’s market value at the time. The immediate price plummet following the trade resulted in the trader losing 92% of their investment.
A Jan. 11 post on X (formerly Twitter) by a developer named Pland highlighted that the MEV bot employed a straightforward backrunning strategy, capitalizing on the inefficiency of the massive WIF trade.
Backrunning, unlike the more harmful “sandwich” attacks which manipulate the initial trade price, merely exploits large mispriced trades without affecting the original transaction.
As a result of this transaction, WIF’s price momentarily surged to $4, as shown by Birdeye data. Despite the initial trader’s significant loss, the dramatic price movement spurred renewed interest in WIF, leading to a 50% increase in its value shortly after the drop.