Sandwich Attacks
In DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
Plain English
A MEV strategy where attackers place trades before and after your transaction to profit from the price impact you create. Like someone cutting in line before you to buy something cheap, then selling it back at the higher price your purchase created.
Technical
MEV extraction technique where attackers front-run a victim’s trade with a buy order and back-run with a sell order, profiting from the victim’s price impact in AMM pools. The attack "sandwiches" the victim’s transaction between attacker trades, effectively taxing the victim’s slippage. Defense mechanisms include private mempools and MEV-resistant ordering.