# Axiom MEV Protection: Off vs Reduced vs Secure Explained

> What Axiom's three MEV protection modes actually do, why 70% of sandwich-attack victims on Solana were Axiom users, and which setting to use for which trade.

Source: https://lighterpedia.com/guides/trading/axiom-mev-protection-modes-explained

MEV protection is the single setting on Axiom most likely to be left wrong by default, and the numbers on what that costs traders are worse than most people realize.


Axiom offers three MEV modes: Off, Reduced ( Jito), and Secure (whitelisted validators). Axiom's own docs recommend Secure. It only matters on buys — never on sells.




*Source: [Axiom](https://axiom.trade/@axiompe) — official product image*

## What a Sandwich Attack Actually Is

A sandwich attack works by placing one transaction immediately before yours and one immediately after. The first pushes the price up right before your buy executes, so you pay more than you should; the second sells into the price impact your own buy created, capturing the difference. It only works against buys — there's no equivalent structure to exploit on a sell, since there's no price impact from your order to sandwich.

## The Three Modes

**Off.** No protection at all. Your transaction goes through the standard, fastest available path with no defense against front-running. Fastest execution, highest exposure.

**Reduced.** Routes your transaction through  **Jito's bundle system** — the same MEV infrastructure that also underpins Axiom's default priority-fee mechanics. This adds a meaningful layer of protection while staying relatively fast.

**Secure.** Routes exclusively through **whitelisted validators**. This is the slowest of the three modes because it trades away access to the fastest general-purpose path in exchange for a validator set specifically chosen to resist sandwich construction. Axiom's own documentation recommends this mode.

## The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong

An October 2025 study by 0xGhostLogs found that Axiom users made up roughly **70% of  Solana sandwich-attack victims** over the prior year — approximately 529,000 SOL extracted across roughly 222,000 victims, with a peak of 87,000 SOL in a single month. That 70% figure isn't evidence that Axiom's infrastructure is uniquely vulnerable; it's better explained by Axiom simply carrying the largest share of Solana trading volume, combined with a real behavioral pattern of traders leaving protection off to shave milliseconds off execution.

Jito responded by banning 15 additional validators associated with the pattern, but the setting itself remains the more direct fix available to any individual trader.

## When to Use Which Mode

| Situation | Recommended mode |
|---|---|
| Buying an established, liquid token (SOL, JUP, BONK) | Secure |
| Racing a fast-moving migration where every second matters | Reduced, accepting some exposure |
| Any sell | Doesn't matter — MEV protection has no sell-side effect |
| Default, when unsure | Secure |


The honest tradeoff: Secure mode costs you speed, not money directly — but a sandwich attack on Off mode costs you money directly. Unless you're specifically racing a migration where being first matters more than the sandwich risk, Secure is the better default.


This setting sits alongside your priority fee and Jito tip (both default to 0.001 SOL) as the levers that actually determine execution quality on Axiom — see [our full fee breakdown](/guides/fees/axiom-fees-explained) for how those interact, and [how Pulse and Axiom's trading tools work](/guides/trading/axiom-pulse-explained) for the rest of the execution layer.

## FAQ

### What are Axiom's MEV protection modes?

Three settings, chosen per trade: Off (no protection), Reduced (routes through Jito's bundle system), and Secure (whitelisted validators only). Axiom's own documentation recommends Secure.

### Does MEV protection slow down my trade?

Yes, Secure mode is slower than Off or Reduced because it routes exclusively through whitelisted validators rather than the fastest available path. That tradeoff is the entire point — speed and sandwich-resistance pull in opposite directions.

### Do I need MEV protection when selling?

No. MEV protection only matters on buys. There's nothing to front-run on an exit, since a sandwich attack works by inserting trades before and after yours to profit from the price impact of your buy specifically.

### Why were so many Axiom users sandwiched?

An October 2025 study found Axiom users made up roughly 70% of Solana sandwich-attack victims over the prior year. This is best explained by Axiom's sheer trading volume combined with users leaving MEV protection off to shave milliseconds off execution speed, not a flaw specific to Axiom's infrastructure.