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Routing misdirection on Uniswap V3 results in $2M extraction

Photorealistic Ethereum logo above a thin Uniswap V3 pool with skewed bars and a backrun shadow, signaling MEV loss.

A large token swap executed on July 5 on the Ethereum network was misdirected into a thinly capitalized AVAIL/WETH Uniswap V3 pool, triggering extreme price slippage and enabling a maximal extractable value (MEV) bot to capture approximately $2 million. The swap is documented in an on-chain Ethereum transaction that shows the pool’s WETH liquidity was effectively drained in a single trade.

According to on-chain monitoring data, the transaction routed through a pool holding roughly $24,000 in total value locked at the time. The order size significantly exceeded available depth, pushing the in-pool price of AVAIL against WETH to a distorted level. Rather than reverting or splitting across deeper liquidity sources, the transaction settled with severe slippage, immediately preceding a coordinated backrun executed within the same block.

The extraction sequence utilized a multi-step arbitrage path that connected a Uniswap V2 pool, a Uniswap V4 PoolManager instance and the mispriced V3 pool. Available traces indicate the searcher bot swapped WETH for USDT, converted the stablecoin into AVAIL through the V4 pool and finally used the artificially depressed AVAIL/WETH rate on V3 to reclaim more than 1,070 WETH. The sequence returned roughly $1.9 million to the bot’s address in exchange for a few thousand AVAIL tokens, capturing the price gap created by the original routing instruction.

The public record confirms the swap mechanics and the subsequent backrun, but does not clarify why the order was directed into the low-liquidity pool. Router deviations of this type typically originate from interface configuration, aggregator heuristics or outdated pool weightings, though the exact origin of the failed routing logic remains unverified. Neither Uniswap nor the AVAIL project had published an official response regarding the incident in the available sources.

The event highlights execution risks tied to concentrated liquidity environments, where price impact escalates rapidly when trades bypass deeper pools. While the extracted amount is visible on-chain, the broader impact assessment, potential adjustments to routing safeguards and whether the affected wallet can recover partial value remain pending. Additional confirmation on the root cause and any subsequent changes to pool routing parameters will be necessary to fully contextualize the loss.