Anti-sniper token launches: protecting your Solana token from bots

Sniper bots buy a new token in its first seconds, before real buyers can react, then sell into the demand that follows. An anti-sniper launch makes those first seconds expensive, so bots pay for the privilege or sit out.

What sniper bots do

A sniper bot monitors pending transactions for new token launches. The moment it sees one, it sends a buy transaction with a high priority fee, often landing in the same block as the launch. It buys at the lowest price, then sells a few seconds or minutes later once other buyers have pushed the price up.

Without protection, the bot takes value that would have gone to real early buyers or to the creator.

How an anti-sniper fee works

The trading fee starts high—50% or more—and falls to the normal fee over a short window, usually a minute. A bot buying in the first second pays half its trade in fees. By the time the fee falls to 1% or 2%, the easy snipe is gone.

The extra fees are shared the same way as any other fee: Meteora keeps 20%, and the rest goes to T-minus and the creator.

Setting it on T-minus

On by default: 50% on the first trade, falling to your normal fee over one minute in 20 steps.
You can change the starting fee (up to 99%), the ending fee, how long it runs and how many steps it falls in.
Or switch it off and every trade pays the same fee from the start.

Other launchpads

Checked on 18 October 2026:

Jupiter Studio: anti-sniper fee on or off, no other settings.
pump.fun: no anti-sniper fee.
Bags: no anti-sniper fee.
bonk.fun: no anti-sniper fee.

Other protections

A scheduled start (plain pools only): the pool waits, closed, until a set time, so everyone starts together.
A first buy: buy some of your own token inside the launch transaction, at the lowest fee, before anyone else can trade.
A volatility fee: an extra temporary fee while the price swings sharply.

Questions

Does the anti-sniper fee hurt real buyers?

Only those who buy inside the window, and the fee falls quickly. Halfway through the default minute, the fee is about 25%; after it, every trade pays your normal fee.

Where does the extra fee go?

To the same places as any trading fee: Meteora keeps 20%, T-minus keeps 10% of the rest on a curve, and your fee wallet gets the remaining 72%.

Can I add anti-sniper protection after launch?

No. The fee schedule is set at launch and cannot change.

Start an anti-sniper launch