Unmasking the Dark Side of Solana Memecoin Launches

A recent report by Pine Analytics has pulled back the curtain on a massive, coordinated scheme in the Solana memecoin space. The findings are eye-opening: token deployers are funding sniper wallets to buy their own tokens the very moment they launch, extracting millions in profit while retail investors are left holding the bag. Let’s break down what’s happening, why it matters, and what can be done about it.

What Is Same-Block Sniping?

Same-block sniping is a tactic where a wallet buys a token in the same Solana block it’s launched—basically, in the first few seconds of its existence. On Solana, a block is produced every 400 milliseconds, so this requires precise timing and coordination. Since Solana doesn’t have a global mempool (a public queue of pending transactions like Ethereum), organic buyers can’t realistically compete. You’d need to know about the token before it’s even visible on public frontends like pump.fun, a popular memecoin launch platform.

Pine Analytics found that over 50% of tokens on pump.fun are sniped in their launch block. That’s not a coincidence—it’s a sign of insider activity. The report zeroes in on a specific subset: cases where deployers directly fund sniper wallets with SOL before the launch, ensuring they can buy early and sell fast for profit.

The Scale of the Problem

Over the past month (March 15 to April 21, 2025), Pine Analytics identified:

• 15,000+ tokens sniped in the same block by wallets directly funded by deployers.
• 4,600+ sniper wallets and 10,400+ deployers involved.
• 15,000 SOL (worth roughly $2.25 million at $150 per SOL) in realized profit extracted.

What’s shocking is the success rate: 87% of these snipes were profitable, with profits typically ranging from 1 to 100 SOL per wallet. Some outliers even cleared 500 SOL. This isn’t random luck—it’s a well-oiled machine.

How It Works: A Step-by-Step Breakdown

The scheme is methodical. Here’s how deployers and snipers pull it off:

1. Pre-Launch Funding: A deployer sends SOL to sniper wallets before launching the token. This was tracked through direct SOL transfers, ensuring a clear link.
2. Same-Block Sniping: The sniper wallets buy the token in the same block it’s deployed, often using pre-signed transactions or shared infrastructure to beat everyone else.
3. Fast Exits: Over 55% of these snipers sell their tokens within one minute, and 85% within five minutes. Most use just one or two transactions to dump their entire position.
4. Profit Extraction: By selling into early retail demand, snipers lock in profits while the token’s price often crashes, leaving regular buyers as “exit liquidity” (a fancy way of saying they lose money).

The report highlights a case where a deployer wallet (8qUXz3xyx7dtctmjQnXZDWKsWPWSfFnnfwhVtK2jsELE) sent 1.2 SOL to three sniper wallets, which then sniped a token called SOL>BNB in its launch block and quickly sold for a profit. This isn’t a one-off—it’s happening across thousands of launches.

Why Is This So Profitable?

Solana’s design makes this possible. Its high-speed, low-cost transactions (thanks to platforms like Jito Labs) allow for rapid execution, but the lack of a mempool means only insiders with pre-knowledge can act this fast. The snipers aren’t trading on skill—they’re front-running retail demand. They buy low, create a fake sense of hype, and sell high before the market catches on.

The time-of-day patterns are telling: sniping activity spikes between 14:00 and 23:00 UTC, aligning with U.S. working hours. This suggests manual launches or scheduled bots, not global, 24/7 automation. It’s a deliberate, human-driven operation.

Obfuscation Tactics: Hiding in Plain Sight

Deployers are getting smarter. Some use “multi-hop funding,” routing SOL through 5–7 intermediary wallets to hide the connection between deployer and sniper. Others deploy “burner wallets” that snipe once and never transact again, or use multi-signer transactions to make buys look like organic demand. Pine Analytics’ methodology caught the direct cases, but they admit more sophisticated schemes are slipping through the cracks.

The Impact on Retail Investors

This isn’t just a game of clever bots—it’s a direct attack on fairness. Retail investors jumping into new memecoins on pump.fun often think they’re getting in early, but they’re actually buying at inflated prices after snipers have already positioned themselves. When the snipers dump, the price tanks, and retail becomes the “exit liquidity”—the ones left losing money.

This erodes trust in Solana’s token launch ecosystem. Platforms like pump.fun are designed for speed and accessibility, but they’re being gamed at scale, with 1.75% of launches showing clear insider activity.

What Can Be Done? Actionable Solutions

Pine Analytics doesn’t just point out the problem—they offer solutions for protocols, frontends, and users to fight back. Here’s what they suggest:

• Display Early Metrics: Frontends should show data from the first 10–50 blocks of a token’s life, like total SOL bought, priority fees paid (e.g., via Jito), and the percentage of volume held by top wallets. This helps users spot suspicious activity, like a few wallets dominating early trades and dumping fast.
• Risk Labels: Use a tiered system to flag risky tokens and wallets:
  • Hard Flags: For wallets with a history of same-block sniping, especially those linked to deployers, show strong warnings that require user confirmation to bypass.
  • Soft Warnings: For tokens with red flags like high early-holder concentration (e.g., top 3 wallets holding 80% of supply), add hoverable labels explaining the risks.
• Adaptive Tagging: Static labels aren’t enough—malicious actors adapt fast. Platforms should use behavioral trust scores based on wallet age, activity, and patterns like hold duration. Make it expensive (in time or capital) for bad actors to look legitimate.

These steps don’t require proving intent—they just make risky behavior more visible so users can decide for themselves.

The Bigger Picture

This report is a wake-up call for the Solana ecosystem. Coordinated memecoin farming isn’t a niche problem—it’s a normalized playbook, happening thousands of times a week. It distorts market signals, exploits retail investors, and undermines the promise of fair token launches.

Fixing this will take more than quick patches. It needs better detection tools, smarter frontends, and a cultural shift toward transparency. Pine Analytics has laid the groundwork with a reproducible way to catch the worst offenders. The question now is whether the ecosystem will step up—or let retail continue to be the exit liquidity for insiders.