Hey everyone at Flashbots!
Last year, my team at Equilibrium took on an exciting project where we explored the Narwhal-Bullshark mempool and consensus framework for a client. Diving into these innovative transaction/block propagation and consensus models was enlightening and something I’d highly recommend for those unfamiliar.
What stood out to me was the potential for MEV within chains that adopt these frameworks. This project piqued my curiosity about how MEV might differ across various blockchain architectures. My interest was further sparked by the recent buzz around Solana, particularly its unique FIFO turbine model for transaction ordering and the creation of a private separate mempool (Jito) to address MEV concerns.
In my opinion, it’s crucial for the public to support research in this area through public goods funding. Without it, the pursuit of alternative profit avenues, such as exploiting MEV, could lead to negative externalities.
I recall coming across research on Tendermint four years ago (FRP-8: Flashbots on Alternative Chain Architectures), which made me wonder if Flashbots might consider issuing an RFP for research into MEV across different chain architectures. The timing now is very important as instead of an explosion of new alt L1s, the current status quo of L1s - or at least their architectures - seem to be solidfying.
Alternatively, specific chains could collaborate with Flashbots to highlight the need for such research, focusing on aspects like message propagation, mempool observance (or its existance), transaction ordering, and leader election processes.
This is my first post in the Flashbots forum, so please forgive me if this isn’t the right place for such a discussion. I’m eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions!