Overview

A high-profile Ethereum MEV bot, known by its address prefix 0xbaDc0dE, was hacked on September 27, 2022. The attacker siphoned 1,101 WETH—roughly $1.46 million at the time—just 30 minutes after the bot executed an ultra-profitable arbitrage that netted 804 WETH (about $1 million).

The bot’s hot streak spanned 75 days of successful MEV transactions before it was abruptly cut short. As Rekt News put it, it was “a beautiful display of on-chain karma.”

What Happened: The Rapid Timeline

• The MEV bot executed a major arbitrage, scoring 804 WETH (~$1M).
• Within about 30 minutes, a vulnerability in the bot’s contract was exploited.
• The attacker drained 1,101 WETH (~$1.46M), wiping out recent gains and more.

You can view the bot’s address, labeled “MEV Bot,” on Etherscan: 0xbaDc0dE.

MEV, Explained Simply

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) is the profit that can be made by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions in a block. It isn’t all bad:

• Positive side: Arbitrage can align prices across decentralized exchanges (DEXs), making markets more efficient.
• Dark side: Tactics like front-running and sandwich attacks can harm regular users—especially common in volatile meme coin markets.

In practice, an MEV setup has two parts:

• Off-chain software that watches the mempool and market conditions.
• An on-chain smart contract that executes the trade logic when triggered by a transaction from an externally owned account (EOA).

Why This Case Was Unusual

Unlike many DeFi contracts, the MEV bot’s source code was not verified on Etherscan. That means the human-readable code (Solidity, Vyper, etc.) wasn’t publicly available—only the compiled bytecode on-chain.

Because of that, analysis relied on:

• Tracing on-chain transactions to understand the bot’s behavior.
• Decompiling and reverse-engineering the compiled bytecode to identify weaknesses.
• Reproducing the exploit on a local fork to validate the attack path.

Researchers ultimately published a proof-of-concept that mirrored the exploit path: Attack PoC.

Why Meme Coin Traders Should Care

If you trade meme coins on DEXs, you live in MEV’s backyard. Here’s what this hack signals:

• MEV bots are everywhere: They chase price gaps and liquidity—common in meme coin pairs—making your trades a target for front-running or sandwich attacks.
• Unverified contracts raise risk: When a contract’s source isn’t published, it’s harder for the community to audit it, and easier for hidden bugs to persist.
• Big profits attract bigger predators: A flashy $1M arbitrage can draw immediate attention from sophisticated attackers watching on-chain.

Key Takeaways

• A bot dubbed 0xbaDc0dE pulled a $1M arbitrage, then lost $1.46M to a hack within 30 minutes.
• The contract’s source code was unverified, forcing investigators to rely on bytecode and transaction analysis.
• The case highlights how fast MEV winners can become targets—and why transparency and security matter.

The Bigger Picture

This incident is a reminder that on-chain markets never sleep. For everyday meme coin traders:

• Expect MEV: Use tools that protect against sandwiching when possible, and be careful with slippage.
• Prefer transparency: Interact with protocols and bots that verify their code and undergo security reviews.
• Watch the mempool mood: High volatility and hype around meme tokens can amplify MEV activity and risk.

In the “blockchain dark forest,” speed and security both matter. This time, the same velocity that drove a $1M arbitrage also set the stage for a costly, minutes-later exploit.