Ethereum Validator Scores Big With 689 ETH From MEV-Boost Relay

Key Points:

• 689 ETH reward worth $1.28M paid from a single block on Ethereum Beacon Chain.
• Ethereum liquid staking solution Lido was the recipient.
• MEV bots have extracted more than $1.38B from Ethereum users according to MEVBlocker.

A recent transaction on the Ethereum Beacon Chain has raised eyebrows in the cryptocurrency community.

Specifically, a single block, built by beaverbuild.org and containing 47 transactions, resulted in a reward of 689 Ether, worth $1.28 million. The recipient of this impressive bounty was Lido, a popular solution for Ethereum liquid staking. Interestingly, this is not the first time Lido has received a reward of this magnitude; just last month, the solution was paid 691 Ether.

While the success of Lido is commendable, the transaction has sparked concerns about Miner Extractable Value (MEV)-boost relays, which can extract value by aggregating blocks from multiple builders to select the one with the highest fees. This has resulted in over $1.38 billion in MEV extraction from Ethereum users attempting to trade, provide liquidity, and mint nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

One of the most common types of MEV exploits is the “sandwich” attack, which occurs when an attacker places a large trade on either side of a target’s transaction, manipulating the price and profiting from the price change. To address these concerns, Martin Köppelmann, the co-founder and CEO of Ethereum-based infrastructure platform Gnosis, suggested that ETH users should use a service like MEVBlocker to prevent their transactions from being exploited.

MEV-boost relays stem from the concept of Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS), which was introduced by the ETH research organization Flashbots in 2021 in the lead-up to Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake in September. Separating the role of proposers from block builders is intended to promote more competition at the consensus level, further decentralize the Ethereum network, and strengthen censorship resistance.

However, ETH has encountered several censorship issues since The Merge took place, namely compliance with standards laid down by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), although the number of compliant blocks has since fallen. There are currently 10 active relays, with Flashbots responsible for relaying more than 50% of the MEV-boost blocks since MEV was introduced in 2021, according to MEVBoost.org.

The issue of MEV-boost relays is a complex one, with many different factors at play. What is clear, however, is that solutions like MEVBlocker will be increasingly important for Ethereum users seeking to avoid the pitfalls of MEV extraction.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

Join us to keep track of news: https://linktr.ee/coincu

Annie

Coincu News