Predatory Trading
Predatory trading refers to aggressive, often algorithmic strategies designed to force other market participants into unfavorable positions. These tactics include front-running, sandwich attacks, and stop-loss hunting, all of which exploit the structural weaknesses of an order book or a protocol.
By identifying large pending orders, predatory actors can manipulate prices to their advantage, causing the original traders to suffer slippage or premature liquidations. This behavior is a form of adversarial interaction that disrupts fair price discovery and undermines confidence in the market.
To combat predatory trading, many protocols have implemented features like private mempools, batch auctions, and slippage tolerance settings. Recognizing and mitigating these strategies is a core component of developing secure and resilient decentralized financial ecosystems that can withstand sophisticated attacks.