# MEV Protection

### 🛠️ What is an MEV attack?

MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) refers to validators or block builders reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions to extract extra value.

Common attack types:

* Front-running: a trader jumps in before your buy, pushes the price up, then sells for profit
* Sandwich attack: buys before and sells after your trade to profit from the price impact

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### 🛡️ APM’s MEV protection

APM integrates Jito’s MEV protection. You can toggle it in Trading Settings:

* When ON: your transaction is sent only to Jito nodes, reducing exposure to regular validators and mitigating front-running/sandwich attacks
* When OFF: your transaction is broadcast to both Jito and standard block leaders, which can boost speed but lowers protection

 [Learn more about JITO's MEV solution](https://www.jito.network/blog/solving-the-mev-problem-on-solana-a-guide-for-stakers/).

{% hint style="info" %}
Note: Even with Anti-MEV enabled, attacks can still occur under malicious or misconfigured leaders. Combine it with sensible slippage settings to lower risk.
{% endhint %}

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### 💰 Validator tip (Bribe)

Jito validators prioritize transactions based on the tip (bribe) paid by the trader.

* Higher bribe → higher execution priority
* In hot or highly volatile tokens, raising the priority fee improves fill probability

#### APM offers smart fee management:

You set a single total fee (priority fee). APM automatically allocates it across Gas / Priority Fee / Bribe for optimal cost-performance.

{% hint style="info" %}
📈 Recommendation: When sniping or trading highly volatile tokens, consider raising the priority fee. You can check current tip levels on the Jito Dashboard.
{% endhint %}

For a deeper breakdown of fees, see [Solana Fees](https://docs.apm.fun/earnings-and-fees/fees/solana-fees).

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