Recently, I've been looking at those "sandwiches/arbitrage" on the chain, and honestly, you think you're picking up money, but often you're just paying a toll for others. You initiate a swap, and once the slippage kicks in, someone ahead of you steps in first to push the price up, then after you complete your trade, they kick it back down. On paper, you don't lose much, but the experience feels like you've been slapped... Anyway, I'm now more concerned about "who am I actually racing against in this transaction."

Arbitrage is the same. The ones who can reliably profit are usually those with faster routes, cheaper gas, or those who are closer to the builder/node. Ordinary people rushing in often end up with the outcome: missing the opportunity and paying the fees first.

Additionally, recently some regions have been fluctuating between tightening and loosening taxes and compliance, causing deposit and withdrawal expectations to be twisted back and forth. On-chain volatility is more prone to this kind of "chase and run" activity. My approach is pretty cautious: small tests, minimal slippage, set limit prices when possible, and avoid hard confrontations with the hot crowd.

I'm off to work.