Solana Co-Founder Questions 0.05% Fee Siphoned by 'Crypto Copilot' on Swaps

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of the Solana blockchain, recently expressed alarm over an alleged 0.05% fee being "siphoned" from Solana swaps by a tool dubbed "Crypto Copilot." Yakovenko, posting under the handle "toly 🇺🇸," questioned the legitimacy of the charge, stating, > "Fr? 5 bips? Am I taking crazy pills." The tweet brought significant attention to the mechanism, which reportedly "injects an extra transfer into every Solana swap, siphoning a minimum of 0.0013 SOL or 0.05% of the trade."

The "Crypto Copilot" mechanism reportedly intercepts transactions on the Solana network, adding an additional fee before the swap is completed. This practice has been described by some as a form of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) extraction or front-running, where bots profit by reordering or inserting transactions. The fee, whether 0.0013 SOL or 0.05% of the trade, is automatically deducted, raising concerns among users about transparency and fair execution.

This alleged "extra transfer" has sparked debate within the Solana community, particularly given the network's reputation for low transaction costs and high efficiency. While third-party bots and tools often operate within decentralized ecosystems, undisclosed or automatically deducted fees can erode user trust and contradict the principles of transparency. The controversy highlights ongoing challenges in managing MEV and ensuring fair practices on high-speed blockchains.

The Crypto Copilot tool is often associated with routing swaps through aggregators like Jupiter Exchange, though the fee itself is not levied by Jupiter but by the third-party bot. The incident underscores the complex interplay between users, decentralized exchanges, and various automated tools operating on blockchain networks. Stakeholders are now scrutinizing such practices to maintain the integrity and user-friendliness of the Solana ecosystem.