Executive Summary
On June 18, 2025, during the launch of COLON token, we observed a highly unusual pattern: 68 brand-new wallets somehow knew exactly when to submit transactions after a privately-submitted "open trading" transaction. This investigation reveals evidence of coordinated activity that raises important questions about transaction ordering fairness.
🔍 Key Finding
Etherscan shows no "Confirmed within X secs" for the open trading transaction, proving it was submitted privately (via Flashbots or direct to builder). Yet 68 Banana Gun wallets placed transactions with perfect timing, capturing positions 1-68 in the block immediately after.
The Evidence
Transaction Analysis
The Open Trading Transaction
Transaction 0x6468b5e... called openTrading() on the COLON contract. Critical observations:
- No mempool confirmation time shown on Etherscan (proves private submission)
- Priority fee: 0.30 Gwei
- Position: #0 in block 22750445
- From: EOA address
0xC1b2...65c8
The Banana Gun Swarm
Immediately following the open trading transaction, 68 Banana Gun transactions occupied positions 1-68:
| Position | Protocol | Priority Fee | Wallet Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| #0 | Open Trading | 0.30 Gwei | Existing wallet |
| #1-68 | Banana Gun | 0.22 Gwei (all identical) | All brand new (nonce 0) |
| #69-70 | Failed swaps | Various | Regular traders |
Statistical Analysis
The probability of 68 independent actors all:
- Using brand new wallets
- Funded at the exact same block
- Setting identical priority fees to 9 decimal places
- Knowing when to submit after a private transaction
...is effectively zero. This is clear evidence of coordination.
How Did They Know?
This is the critical question. When a transaction is submitted privately (Flashbots/direct to builder), it's invisible to the public mempool. The evidence clearly shows the open trading transaction was private:
Our Questions for BuilderNet
- How did 68 wallets know the exact moment to submit transactions after a privately-submitted transaction?
- Is there a private communication channel between certain actors and builders?
- Why were these 68 transactions ordered before others with higher priority fees?
- What measures exist to ensure fair transaction ordering?
Technical Details
Block Builder Analysis
Block 22750445 was built by BuilderNet (Beaver). This builder has been involved in several similar patterns we're investigating.
Gas Strategy
The Banana Gun transactions used a sophisticated gas strategy:
- Priority fee: 0.220000000 Gwei (9 decimal precision)
- Max fee: 20.000004077 Gwei
- This precision suggests automated coordination
Timeline
Implications
This pattern raises serious questions about:
- Transaction fairness: Are some actors getting privileged information?
- MEV extraction: Is this a new form of MEV that bypasses normal protections?
- Market integrity: Can regular traders compete when coordinated groups have special advantages?
Similar Patterns
We've identified similar patterns in other token launches. This appears to be a systematic approach rather than an isolated incident. Further investigation is ongoing.
Help Us Get Answers
We believe in transparency and fair markets. If you have information about these patterns or similar observations, please reach out.
Contact InvestigatorMethodology
This investigation used:
- Direct blockchain data from local Reth node
- Statistical analysis of wallet patterns
- Gas fee analysis to 9 decimal places
- Mempool visibility verification via Etherscan
Disclaimer
This investigation presents factual observations from public blockchain data. We make no accusations of wrongdoing but seek transparency about transaction ordering mechanics. All transaction hashes and data are independently verifiable on-chain.