Tonight, a textbook example of arbitrage took place on the Ethereum mainnet. The star player was the renowned Wintermute, with Uniswap and Curve as supporting actors. The props were flash loans, and the prize was $250,000. The entire process was dazzlingly fast. Wintermute's bot first borrowed a large flash loan from Aave, then made a large swap in the USDC/ETH pool on Uniswap V3. This transaction instantly drove up the price of ETH on Uniswap, creating a price differential with other DEXes. Almost simultaneously, the bot executed the reverse trade in Curve's stETH/ETH pool at an even better price. After deducting the flash loan interest and gas fees, the bot netted thousands of dollars in profit. This was just one cycle. Over the next few minutes, the same operation was repeated dozens of times, each time precisely capitalizing on the fleeting price differential. Ultimately, the cumulative profit reached $250,000, all in less than five minutes. This is the Dark Forest Law of DeFi. On the surface, various protocols coexist harmoniously, providing users with convenient financial services. But beneath the surface, well-equipped hunters scan every arbitrage opportunity 24/7. They have the most advanced bots, the fastest network connections, and the most abundant capital. Every large transaction made by an ordinary user could become their prey. This isn't entirely a bad thing. The existence of arbitrageurs helps prices converge across different markets, improving the efficiency of the entire ecosystem. However, it also reminds us that in this seemingly decentralized world, the advantages of technology and capital remain significant. For ordinary users, understanding these mechanisms, setting reasonable slippage, and choosing pools with sufficient liquidity are the key to best protecting their interests. After all, in this forest, you're either the hunter or the prey.