Crypto glossary
Sniper bot
A sniper bot is software that buys a new token in the first block or seconds after its launch, aiming to get in before ordinary buyers push the price up.
Sniper bots watch the blockchain or the mempool for signals that a token is about to become tradable, such as liquidity being added to a DEX pool or trading being enabled in its contract. They then submit buy transactions with high priority fees or through private block builders so they land in the same block. On Solana and on EVM chains, sniping tools are offered through Telegram bots that let anyone set up automated buys.
Snipers can capture large shares of a launch at the lowest prices and sell into the first wave of demand, which is why many launches see an immediate spike and dump. Some developers snipe their own tokens through multiple wallets to hide how much supply they control.
Projects fight back with anti-sniper measures such as buy limits in the first blocks, high initial taxes or fair launch mechanisms. Snipers in turn face honeypot contracts that let them buy but not sell, and Telegram bots that require private keys expose users to theft.
Example
A memecoin's liquidity goes live, and within the same block five sniper wallets buy 25% of the supply. Ten minutes later, as retail buyers arrive, they sell and the price falls by half.