Crypto Chaos: BNB Chain Users Say “No More MEV Madness!”

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On Feb. 7, the big cheese of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, threw a poll on X like it was a hot potato, asking if the BNB Chain should kick those pesky Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) issues to the curb. 🥔💥

Now, hold onto your wallets, folks! MEV issues have reportedly cost BNB Chain users over a whopping $1 billion in the 2020s. And guess what? Over 80% of users voted to send MEV packing! Talk about a landslide! 🎉

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What is MEV?

So, what in the world is this MEV? It’s like the sneaky cousin of your favorite uncle—Maximal Extractable Value refers to the maximum amount of fees that validators can extract from network transactions by playing a little game of musical chairs with the transaction order. 🎶

These validators can pull some serious strings, orchestrating price changes like a maestro at a symphony, all while we unsuspecting users are left holding the bag. It’s like an “invisible tax” that nobody asked for! 💸

Back in 2014, an anonymous Reddit user raised the alarm about potential front-running by miners in the Ethereum network. Long before DeFi was even a twinkle in its mother’s eye, this savvy commentator laid it all out:

“For example, in an Ethereum decentralized stock exchange, I could run a miner (or rather many miners) processing exchange transactions. When a large buy order comes in, I could delay it on all my miners, put a buy order in myself on all my miners simultaneously, and then process the original transaction. I would get the best price and could possibly even sell to the originator for an immediate profit.”

Although MEV is often associated with Ethereum, BNB Chain users have been feeling the heat too. And judging by their votes, they’ve had enough of this nonsense! 🔥

Automated Market Making platforms are like a playground for bots, and one of the nastiest tricks in their bag is the “sandwich attack.” No, it’s not a delicious lunch option! It’s when a bad actor places a target order between two of their own orders to manipulate the price. Talk about a recipe for disaster! 🥪

In 2021, BNB Chain users allegedly lost around $300 million to these sandwich attacks. But wait, it gets juicier! In 2024, a single bot squeezed out around $40 million in just three months, while the total cost of sandwich attacks ballooned to a staggering $1.5 billion. That’s a lot of bread! 🍞

The share of affected blocks reached a jaw-dropping 35.5%. Yikes!

Why not eliminate MEV issues?

So, should the BNB dev team step in and put a stop to these MEV attackers, or let the chaos reign? It’s a real head-scratcher! 🤔

Many folks think that MEV opportunities are like the air we breathe in decentralized finance—impossible to get rid of! Others are like, “Hey, it’s not illegal, it’s just a little exploit! Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater!” 🛁

And some observers argue that these MEV attacks actually encourage more validators, which boosts decentralization and makes the network safer for everyone. It’s like a twisted version of “survival of the fittest!” 🦁

In the end, the “MEV issues” are just the price we pay for playing in the wild world of decentralized finance.

“To be fair, without MEV, ERC20 would not have attracted so many transactions last year, or Solana would not have seen such record-breaking transaction volumes without the active MEV crowd. This is also quite positive for blockchain projects.” — Mr Moon (@Mr_2Moon) February 7, 2025

This perspective, however, overlooks the fact that some MEV tricks, like the time bandit attack, are about as welcome as a skunk at a garden party. 🚫🦨

What are the possible solutions?

Zhao himself admits that while MEV-related problems can’t be “completely” stopped, there are ways to dial down the damage. It’s like trying to put out a fire with a garden hose! 🔥💦

“Personal opinion: I hate any type of ‘front running’, and MEV looks like that to me. In a decentralized world, no one can completely stop it. But there are ways to reduce it.” — CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) February 7, 2025

One tool in the fight against MEV attacks is called remote procedure calls. These RPCs direct transactions to a private mempool, making it harder for the bad guys to pull off their sandwich attacks. 🥪🚫

Another solution, which has been cooking since 2023, is the Proposer-Builder-Separation (PBS) model. This fancy term means outsourcing block proposals to separate actors who prepare blocks for validators without exploiting them. It’s like having a personal chef who doesn’t eat your food! 🍽️

Increasing the number of relays on the BNB Chain might also help limit the impact of MEV attacks. With several solution projects already in the works, it’s no wonder there’s high support for reducing MEV. After all, who doesn’t want to keep their hard-earned cash? 💰

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2025-02-08 18:06