Friend.tech (FT), the web3 social token platform, is facing a continued issue with sniper bots that is pushing the price of popular creators before their shares even hit the market. Sniper bots are using a technique called ‘sniping’ to gain control over high-value profile shares. This issue was highlighted in a detailed analysis conducted by X user @unexployed_ of Castle Capital.
According to the analysis, these sniper bots are deploying a technique where they interact directly with the smart contracts, causing significant shifts in share prices. For example, when DappRadar registered on FT, the share prices started at an unusually high point of 0.26 ETH, triggered by a sniping address rather than a registered account. This demonstrates the influence of these bots on the market.
Further investigation revealed that within the first four blocks, 65 shares were already on the market, not just for DappRadar but also for other entities such as Moonshilla and Rektdiomedes. The primary sniper, identified as 0x081…951, executed over 20,000 transactions to acquire the shares. However, the first 46 transactions failed and were reverted due to insufficient payment.
A CryptoSlate analysis of the transactions revealed that the sniper attempted to purchase the shares before the account owner had purchased the first share, which violates FT’s requirements. This spamming behavior and mempool leaks are contributing factors to the phenomenon of sniper bots.
The sniper was able to sell their shares and earn a profit of 1.84 ETH, but their actions led to a significant reduction in supply. Another sniper incurred a loss of 0.5 ETH, highlighting the competitive nature of these bots.
These revelations have raised concerns about the fairness of the platform for individual users and high-value profiles. @unexployed_ suggests that FT should consider solutions such as allowing creators to purchase more of their shares upon registering to mitigate the effects of these bots.
Despite the challenges posed by sniper bots, FT is experiencing a resurgence in user activity. The platform has seen a surge in revenue, reaching $5.6 million on Sept. 9. The daily active users tally reached 9,000, with 2,000 new sign-ups recorded on the same day. The trading volume also reached $12.3 million, positioning FT as one of the highest fee-generating dApps in the crypto market.
It’s worth noting that FT’s beta version made a significant impact when it launched on Coinbase’s layer-2 Base on Aug. 11. However, FT is showing resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges.
As the issue of sniper bots continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how FT will respond and address this bot activity.
