Ethereum Sandwich Attacks Drop Despite High Frequency

Profitability Decline in Sandwich Attacks

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  Ethereum sandwich attack profits fell from $10M to $2.5M in 2025
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  Attacks remain high but less profitable per incident
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  Stablecoin pools are key targets, raising concern

In 2025, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on Ethereum saw a huge rise in activity, with monthly volumes growing from $65 billion to over $100 billion. But even with this boom, one of Ethereum’s most persistent threats—sandwich attacks—has become far less profitable.

According to data from EigenPhi, the monthly value extracted through sandwich attacks plunged from nearly $10 million in late 2024 to just $2.5 million by October 2025. Interestingly, the number of attacks hasn’t dropped much, still ranging between 60,000 to 90,000 each month. This suggests that while attackers are still active, they’re earning far less per exploit.

The average profit per attack now stands at only $3. And among all the attackers, just six made more than $10,000 in total this year. These figures show a sharp decline in profitability and possibly rising costs or risks involved in executing such strategies.

Stablecoin Pools Become Primary Targets

One worrying trend is where these attacks are happening. About 38% of sandwich attacks in 2025 targeted low-volatility pools like stablecoins and wrapped assets. Even worse, 12% hit stable swap pools, which are designed to offer low slippage. This kind of slippage can be extremely damaging and unexpected for users, especially when they believe their trades are safe from volatility.

Stablecoin pools were historically considered safer because of their predictability. But attackers are now going after these pools more frequently, perhaps due to the concentration of liquidity and predictable pricing.

MEV-Protection Tools Show Effectiveness

The drop in profit despite sustained attack levels may hint at a more hopeful development: the growing adoption of MEV-protection tools. These tools help traders hide or delay transaction details, making it harder for bots to front-run and sandwich their trades. Solutions like Flashbots, private transaction relays, and privacy-focused DEX features could be doing their job, reducing the extractable value from each transaction.

While sandwich attacks are far from over, the sharp decline in profitability shows Ethereum users are starting to fight back. If this trend continues, the playing field could tilt further in favor of everyday traders.