Solana Developers Activate MEV Protection to Counter Bot Activity

Solana developers have rolled out a major upgrade aimed at curbing MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) abuse on the network, activating a new protocol-level protection mechanism designed to reduce sandwich attacks and front-running by high-frequency trading bots. The upgrade, titled ‘Fair Transactions Scheduler’ (FTS), was implemented across key Solana validators over the weekend and marks a significant step toward fairer transaction ordering.

The move comes after growing frustration among users and DeFi protocols on Solana, who have reported a surge in bot-driven price manipulation and gas wars, particularly during NFT mints and token launches. MEV bots exploit Solana’s fast block times and predictable transaction ordering to extract value by reordering or inserting trades, often at the expense of regular users.

With FTS now live, transactions entering the mempool are shuffled and ordered in a randomized but verifiable way before block inclusion. This minimizes the advantage of speed-based manipulation and levels the playing field for traders, stakers, and retail participants. According to the Solana Foundation, early testing showed a 65% drop in MEV-related profit activity during peak congestion periods.

The upgrade received praise from multiple ecosystem projects, including Jupiter Exchange and Drift Protocol, both of which have previously suffered from MEV-related slippage and liquidity distortions. Developers say this could improve user trust and attract more institutional players concerned about market fairness and execution transparency.

SOL, the native token of the Solana network, climbed 5.1% following the update, trading near $142.80, as market participants welcomed the long-awaited improvement. Solana’s DeFi ecosystem has been regaining momentum in recent months, with TVL rising over 20% since June and new projects launching in lending, perpetuals, and NFT infrastructure.

Critics of the FTS approach argue that it may reduce validator revenue tied to prioritized transaction inclusion, potentially discouraging validator participation in the long run. However, developers counter that the benefits of a fairer and more secure user experience far outweigh short-term trade-offs and that the protocol could evolve to offer optional MEV auctions in controlled environments.

Solana joins a growing list of Layer 1 networks implementing MEV protection tools, including Ethereum’s Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) and Avalanche’s recent anti-front-running module. The trend reflects an industry-wide effort to defend blockchain ecosystems from extractive behavior that undermines user trust and protocol efficiency.

As Solana prepares for future upgrades focused on parallel execution and dynamic fees, the introduction of MEV defense signals that the network is maturing into a more resilient and inclusive platform. Analysts believe this could help SOL regain a stronger position in the Layer 1 wars and attract new capital from frustrated Ethereum users seeking lower fees and faster execution without unfair trade-offs.