The Solana Foundation has taken firm action against "validator sandwich attacks" by removing a group of operators from its delegation program. These deceptive tactics involve exploiting pending network transactions to profit from price manipulation, to the detriment of regular traders receiving unfavorable prices.

These rogue operators were identified through their involvement in "mempools," which facilitate such attacks. Solana Foundation's policy strictly prohibits such harmful practices, leading to the immediate cessation of delegation responsibilities for these validators.

Announcing the decision on Discord, Tim Garcia, Solana's validator relations lead, emphasized that participants engaging in malicious activities like using private mempools for sandwich attacks will not be tolerated. He warned that any offenders caught will face swift removal of their stakes from the Foundation.

The Solana Foundation's Delegation Program was established to enable validators to participate without holding a large amount of SOL tokens themselves. Delegation allows users to assign staking responsibilities to a validator or stake pool, which includes block creation and transaction verification.

This action underscores Solana Foundation's commitment to safeguarding traders from potential exploitation and preventing abuse of its system. Protecting users from financial losses due to fraudulent trading practices remains their top priority.