MEV & The Dark Forest

The hidden economy of blockchain. Maximal Extractable Value, sandwich attacks, builders, MEV-Boost, and how to protect yourself with current 2024-2026 data.

3 lessons · 35 min · expert

1. 1MEV: The Hidden Crypto EconomyHow sophisticated bots extract value from every Ethereum and Solana transaction, the cumulative scale of MEV, and how to protect your trades.3 min
2. 2MEV Protection for UsersA practical guide to protecting yourself from MEV. Flashbots Protect, MEV Blocker, CowSwap, 1inch Fusion, RPC setup, slippage discipline, dollar-saving examples, the Solana sandwich landscape, and the current builder market shares.15 min
3. 3MEV Economics: Builders, Searchers, ValidatorsThe full MEV value chain. Searchers, builders (Titan, BuilderNet, Quasar), MEV-Boost relays, validators, block construction economics, the "trust the relay" assumption versus optimistic relays and ePBS, fair sequencing services (Espresso, Astria), MEV redistribution (CowSwap MEV Blocker), Solana MEV economics (Jito $674M), and the "MEV is inevitable vs MEV is a bug" thesis.17 min

Educational only — not financial advice.