Answer
What is a sniper bot and should I worry?
A sniper bot is a script that buys your token in the first block after launch, and yes, you should expect them — bundling buys is the common defence, at about 0.01 SOL per bundled buy.
What they actually do
Bots watch for new mints and submit buy transactions the moment one appears. Solana orders transactions by fee, so the bots that pay more land earlier in the block. That is why a crowded launch costs more than the base fee suggests: the 5,000 lamports per signature is a floor, and priority fees are what get you in.
The effect on you is mechanical. If a bot buys before your audience does, it holds tokens at the lowest price on the curve and can sell into any interest you generate. Your announcement becomes its exit liquidity.
- Bots buy the first block; you cannot out-click them by hand
- Priority fees decide ordering, and are charged even when a transaction fails
- A bot's early buy raises the price your real buyers pay
- The same bots watch for the graduation signal at 85.0054 SOL
Why launches pay priority fees
Because the base fee is flat at 5,000 lamports per signature — a fraction of a cent — ordering is bought, not earned. A launch that wants to land at a particular moment pays extra to jump the queue, and so does everyone else, so the queue gets expensive.
This is also why a failed launch still costs money: the fee is charged on failure, and with a priority fee attached, the failure is more expensive than the base rate.
For a creator, the practical consequence is that your launch budget should include some fee headroom. A transaction submitted at the base rate during a busy period may simply not land, and you will pay for the attempt regardless.
- Base fee: 5,000 lamports per signature, charged win or lose
- Priority fee: optional, sets your place in the block
- Launch cost measured on CreateV2: 0.01495 SOL in total
Bundling, and what it costs
Bundling means submitting several buys as a single atomic package so they land together, ideally in the same block as the launch. It is sold as protection: if you hold the earliest positions, a sniper cannot take them from you. Vendors charge for the bundled buy itself — Jumpbit prices it at 0.01 SOL per bundled buy on top of a 0.05 SOL base.
Understand what you are buying. Bundled buys concentrate supply in wallets you control at the lowest price, which is also the shape of a rug pull. Holders will notice, and the pattern shows up in exactly the first-transaction analysis that Chainalysis describes.
- Bundle cost: about 0.01 SOL per bundled buy at Jumpbit
- Concentrated early supply is a red flag to anyone checking
- Dispersing or locking those positions is part of doing it responsibly
- A bundled launch is not a safer launch — it is a differently distributed one
Related questions
Can I stop sniper bots?
Not really. You can change who ends up holding the earliest positions by bundling your own buys, but the bots still see and trade the mint.
What does bundling cost?
About 0.01 SOL per bundled buy at Jumpbit, on top of a 0.05 SOL base and 0.002 SOL additional charge.
Are snipers why my launch cost more than expected?
Partly. Priority fees raise the cost of landing a transaction, and the 5,000-lamport base fee is charged even when it fails.
Where to go next
- How do I check whether a token is a scam?
- Why does my coin show a market cap but no buys?
- The full launch guide: costs, socials, 21-day runway
- Every question we have answered
If the brand and the page are what is stopping you
Mint a Brand draws the icon, banner and stickers, builds the token site on its own subdomain and prepares the launch for your wallet to sign, for $30. Your wallet pays the network fee and is the creator of record.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-31 · nothing here is financial advice, and most meme coins go to zero.