Why Most Crypto Bots Get Sandwiched (And How to Prevent It) If you’ve ever built or run a crypto trading bot, you’ve likely encountered the dreaded "sandwich attack." It’s one of the most frustrating and costly issues in decentralized finance (DeFi) trading. In this article, I’ll explain what sandwich attacks are, how they work, why your bot is vulnerable, and—most importantly—how to protect yourself using tools like Jito bundles. I’ll also share some real-world numbers and practical lessons I’ve learned the hard way. What Is a Sandwich Attack? A sandwich attack is a form of Miner Extractable Value (MEV) where an attacker exploits your transaction by placing their own transaction before and after yours. Here’s how it works: Front-Running : The attacker detects your pending transaction (e.g., a swap on Uniswap) and submits their own transaction with a higher gas fee to execute first. Execution : Your transaction executes in the middle, often at a worse price due to the attacker’s manipulation.…