MEV Protection for Users

What you'll learn

• From Theory to Self-Defense
• Flashbots Protect and MEV Blocker: Private RPC Endpoints
• CowSwap and 1inch Fusion: Intent-Based Trading
• Slippage Discipline and Dollar-Saving Examples
• The Solana Sandwich Landscape
• The Builder Market in April 2026
• For Deeper Reading

Key terms

Flashbots Protect

Free MEV-protected RPC service. Routes transactions directly to Flashbots' builder, bypassing the public mempool. URL "https://rpc.flashbots.net". The longest-established private RPC service.

MEV Blocker

CoW DAO's public RPC service. 100% sandwich protection; shares 90% of winning searcher's bid back to the user; URL "https://rpc.mevblocker.io". Routes through multiple builders with anti-sandwich agreements.

CowSwap (CoW Protocol)

Intent-based DEX using 30-second batch auctions with uniform clearing prices. Sandwich extraction is mathematically impossible because all trades in a batch settle at one price. Gasless: solvers pay gas.

1inch Fusion

Intent-based DEX using Dutch auctions. Users sign orders; resolvers compete to fill within the user's time window. Gasless. Fusion v2 (2024) added cross-chain swaps.

Slippage Discipline

The practice of setting the tightest acceptable slippage tolerance. Stable pairs: 0.05-0.1%; ETH to stable: 0.3-0.5%; major to major: 0.5-1%; minor altcoins: 1-3%. Sandwich attackers profit exactly equal to authorized slippage.

Vpe Bot (Solana)

The most prolific documented single-bot Solana sandwich operator. Extracted ~65,880 SOL ($13.43M) over a 30-day period in December 2024. Illustrative of the high MEV environment on Solana.

Solana Sandwich Profits (Jan 2024-May 2025)

Documented sandwich extraction on Solana totaled $370-500 million across multiple operators in this period. Made possible by negligible gas costs and the chain's leader-rotation transaction ordering model.

Jito (Solana)

Dominant Solana MEV infrastructure. Used by ~93% of Solana validators. Cumulative tips paid to stakers/validators: ~$674M through end-2024. Includes options for sandwich-protected routing.

Helius RPC

Solana RPC provider offering MEV-protected endpoints similar to Flashbots Protect on Ethereum. Configurable in Phantom and Solflare wallets.

Jupiter (Solana)

Dominant Solana DEX aggregator. Routes through multiple DEXes; offers slippage protection and routing optimization. The default protection layer for most retail Solana traders.

Titan Builder

Dominant Ethereum block builder as of April 2026 (~52% market share). Founded by ex-Flashbots engineers in 2023. Pays validators aggressively, driving up network MEV income.

BuilderNet (formerly bloXroute)

Long-running independent Ethereum block builder, ~25% market share as of April 2026. Strong relationships with searcher community.

Quasar Builder

Newer Ethereum block builder, ~15% market share as of April 2026. Competitive on certain transaction types.