Today I got sick from sandwiches again… The on-chain spread looked pretty tempting, and I just hit exchange with a twitch of my hand. Then when I checked the trade, I didn’t catch the opportunity at all—it felt like I just handed someone else a fee. Plainly put, now the moment I see the words “arbitrage,” I get on edge: is this something I can actually make money from, or is someone waiting to clip me?

I’m not going to keep chasing the explanation anymore. A lot of the time it’s just random—whoever’s bot is faster wins. What I can do is the same as always: before interacting, take a couple more looks at the contract and the funding route, don’t let slippage go wild, test with small amounts first. Better to miss out than turn it into a lesson.

Also, I’ve been scrolling through the arguments in the group about privacy coins/mixing compliance, and the more they argue, the more it feels like the rules on-chain are actually pretty cold… If you want privacy, they say you need boundaries; if you want fair matching, MEV still shows up. Anyway, just tick off your own checklist first—survive, then talk.