# The MEV Letter #130 **URL:** https://collective.flashbots.net/t/the-mev-letter-130/5621 **Category:** The Flashbots Ship **Tags:** the-mev-letter **Created:** [March 18, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/the-mev-letter-130/5621 "2026-03-18T23:21:56Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Page:** 1
### Author: ![Fred](https://collective.flashbots.net/user_avatar/collective.flashbots.net/fred/32/1288_2.png) [@Fred](https://collective.flashbots.net/u/Fred) #### Post date: [March 18, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/the-mev-letter-130/5621/1 "2026-03-18T23:21:56Z")
_ **The MEV Letter** _ is a weekly collection of papers, articles and resources related to MEV. The intention of this letter is to provide a comprehensive summary of the latest research, discussions, and developments in the space, with links for further reading. -[_Explore all previous editions via The MEV Letter explorer_](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/explorer/100). # Papers & Articles - [Timing Games: Probabilistic backrunning and spam](https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22032) by @BrunoMr, @Christoph, and [Akaki Mamageishvili](http://mamageishvili.info/) model probabilistic backrunning on blockchains as a timing game of costly actions and characterize its unique symmetric equilibrium. - [Forum post](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/timing-games-probabilistic-backrunning-and-spam/5614) by @0xSybil - [Open vs. Sealed: Auction Format Choice for Maximal Extractable Value](https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.16333) by[Aleksei Adadurov](https://arxiv.org/search/q-fin?searchtype=author&query=Adadurov,+A),[Sergey Barseghyan](https://arxiv.org/search/q-fin?searchtype=author&query=Barseghyan,+S),[Anton Chtepine](https://x.com/kawahwookiee),[Antero Eloranta](https://x.com/antsae_),[Andrei Sebyakin](https://arxiv.org/search/q-fin?searchtype=author&query=Sebyakin,+A), and[Arsenii Valitov](https://arxiv.org/search/q-fin?searchtype=author&query=Valitov,+A) studies optimal auction design for MEV markets on Ethereum by comparing first-price sealed-bid, second-price sealed-bid, English, Dutch, and all-pay. - [The Ethereum Foundation Mandate](https://ethereum.foundation/ef-mandate.pdf) by [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation) presents their role, principles, and mission to keep Ethereum trustless, permissionless, and resilient enough to pass the [walkaway test](https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/2010621884811845708). - [Blog post](https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2026/03/13/ef-mandate) by [Ethereum Foundation Board](https://ethereum.foundation/ef) - [Thread](https://x.com/ethereumfndn/status/2032460726728573298) by [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation/) - [Post](https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/2032469755614179700) by[Vitalik Buterin](https://vitalik.eth.limo/) - [Post](https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi/status/2032465568700530998) by[Aya Miyaguchi](https://x.com/ayamiyagotchi) - [Post](https://x.com/fredrik0x/status/2032464487521960264) by [Fredrik Svantes](https://x.com/fredrik0x) - [A Deeper Look at a New Protocol Cluster Priority: Hardness](https://x.com/ethereum/status/2034307029272293478) by[Fredrik Svantes](https://x.com/fredrik0x),[Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke), and[parithosh](https://x.com/parithosh_j) gives an overview of the _Harden the L1 track_, as introduced in[Protocol Priorities Update for 2026](https://blog.ethereum.org/2026/02/18/protocol-priorities-update-2026), and its commitment to preserving Ethereum’s core guarantees of open source, censorship resistance, privacy, security, permissionlessness, and trust minimization. - [Post](https://x.com/soispoke/status/2034379132918738981) by[Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke) - [Proof-of-Time: From Trust-Based to Physics-Based Transaction Ordering](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/proof-of-time-from-trust-based-to-physics-based-transaction-ordering/5618) by OpenTTT Research Team presents [OpenTTT](https://github.com/Helm-Protocol/OpenTTT) and outlines how Proof-of-Time is designed to cryptographically prove transaction arrival order as a way to mitigate MEV. - [Rational Finality Stalls and the Risks of Pre-Finality Actions in Ethereum-Anchored Systems](https://ethresear.ch/t/rational-finality-stalls-and-the-risks-of-pre-finality-actions-in-ethereum-anchored-systems/24416) by[Rujia Li](https://rujia.uk/) describes a _rational finality stall_ in which a coalition of validators withholds attestations to temporarily delay Ethereum finality without breaking consensus. - [Why Ethereum needs an Encrypted Mempool](https://julianma.substack.com/p/why-ethereum-needs-an-encrypted-mempool?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%2Bviewer&triedRedirect=true) by [Julian Ma](https://x.com/_julianma) argues that Ethereum needs an encrypted mempool to prevent sandwiching and accelerate the maturation of onchain markets. - [Thread](https://x.com/_julianma/status/2032067843635007508) by[Julian Ma](https://x.com/_julianma) - [The Fast Confirmation Rule. Ethereum Confirmations within 13 seconds](https://x.com/_julianma/status/2033851796574154808) by[Julian Ma](https://x.com/_julianma) explains how the[Fast Confirmation Rule](https://fastconfirm.it/) (FCR) is designed to reduce deposit times from Ethereum L1 to L2s and CEXes to a single slot. - [Post](https://x.com/_julianma/status/2033852383290102109) by[Julian Ma](https://x.com/_julianma) - [Encrypted frame transactions](https://ethresear.ch/t/encrypted-frame-transactions/24440) by[Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke) present a design for same-slot encrypted execution by separating ordering from execution and requiring the builder to commit to the transaction order before the decryption key is revealed. - [Thread](https://x.com/soispoke/status/2034255732141342870) by[Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke) - [FOCIL 🤝 Native Account Abstraction](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/focil-native-account-abstraction/27999) by [Thomas Thiery](https://twitter.com/soispoke) explains how [FOCIL](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-7805) and [Frame Transaction](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8141) interact and defines a public mempool eligible FrameTx subset with a stricter omission check. - [Thread](https://x.com/soispoke/status/2033500624742916136) by [Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke) - [Why Ethereum Needs a Dynamically Available Protocol](https://ethresear.ch/t/why-ethereum-needs-a-dynamically-available-protocol/24418) by [Luca Zanolini](https://x.com/luca_zanolini) presents a two-layer consensus architecture where a fast available chain and a separate finality mechanism are fully decoupled. - [Thread](https://x.com/luca_zanolini/status/2033908939088400655) by [Luca Zanolini](https://x.com/luca_zanolini) - [Post](https://x.com/vitalikbuterin/status/2034067549160116247) by [Vitalik Buterin](https://vitalik.eth.limo/) - [Revisiting Falcon signature aggregation for PQ mempools](https://ethresear.ch/t/revisiting-falcon-signature-aggregation-for-pq-mempools/24431) by [Antonio Sanso](https://x.com/asanso), [Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke), and [Benedikt Wagner](https://benedikt-wagner.dev/) compares the size of signatures and aggregates for transactions using [Falcon signatures](https://falcon-sign.info/falcon.pdf) under different assumptions about key recovery and aggregation for PQ Ethereum transactions. - [Thread](https://x.com/soispoke/status/2034197688707674619) by [Thomas Thiery](https://x.com/soispoke) - [The Untapped Gardens: Finding Ethereum’s Organic Yield](https://x.com/CharlieStLouis/status/2033913772314689782) by [Charles St. Louis](https://x.com/CharlieStLouis) details how most DeFi yields are sourced from external inputs or validator economics, and suggests ways for Ethereum to financialize its native resource markets of compute, storage, and execution to generate more native yield. - [POST MORTEM: AUSDT→ AAAVE Trade Incident (Block 24643151)](https://x.com/CoWSwap/status/2032959076502581623) by [CoW DAO](https://cow.fi/) provides a technical overview of the extreme price impact that caused a user to [exchange](https://etherscan.io/tx/0x9fa9feab3c1989a33424728c23e6de07a40a26a98ff7ff5139f3492ce430801f) $50M of aUSDT for $36k of aAAVE. - [The $50M UI Lie: Aave Showed a Good Swap, CoW Solved the Worst One](https://x.com/Ehsan1579/status/2032307929865470187) by [Ehsan](https://x.com/Ehsan1579) describes how [Aave](https://aave.com/)’s interface showed an optimistic quote while posting a materially different CoW order, enabling a solver to route $50M through a low-liquidity pool despite better liquidity being available. - [Thread](https://x.com/tzhen/status/2032226582778335246) by @Tina - [We need Encrypted Data Availability (+ mempools), and the Death of PBS](https://x.com/rainandcoffee/status/2032481575221264737) by [rain & coffee](https://x.com/rainandcoffee) argues that implementing MCP without an encrypted mempool for DA would amplify MEV through timing games. - [What does the Ethereum Foundation even do?](https://x.com/binji_x/status/2032469026790576288) by [binji](https://x.com/binji_x) details how the [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation/) supports the long-term health of the Ethereum ecosystem by funding core infrastructure, research, education, and development. # Posts & Threads - [Stani Kulechov](https://x.com/StaniKulechov) published a [post](https://x.com/StaniKulechov/status/2032193345414664659) detailing how the [Aave](https://aave.com/) interface led to a user swapping $50M of aUSDT for $36k aAAVE, and efforts to return $600K in fees collected from the transaction. - [Reply](https://x.com/_julianma/status/2032365122027438341) by [Julian Ma](https://x.com/_julianma) - [Anders Elowsson](https://x.com/weboftrees) published a [thread](https://x.com/weboftrees/status/2034268464374788169) announcing that the full [EIP-8184: LUCID encrypted mempool](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-8184-lucid-encrypted-mempool/28017) has been published. - [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation/) published a [thread](https://x.com/ethereum/status/2032138245048524982), authored by [polar](https://x.com/post_polar_) and [Mykola Siusko](https://x.com/nicksvyaznoy), outlining how Ethereum’s privacy ecosystem is undergoing an evolution, and highlights applications that enable onchain privacy for users. - [Vitalik Buterin](https://vitalik.eth.limo) published a [thread](https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2033016131884376541) suggesting that the separation of EL and CL clients should be revisited in order to reduce the complexity of running a node. # Talks & Discussions - [All Core Devs - Execution (ACDE) #232, March 12, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3owz0r4Fv68) hosted by [Ansgar Dietrichs](https://x.com/adietrichs) discussed Glamsterdam devnet updates, Hegotá headliner selection, [SSZ on the engine API](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1955#issuecomment-4023511921), and more. - [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1955) by [nixo.eth](https://x.com/nixorokish) - [Notes](https://christinedkim.substack.com/p/acd-after-hours-acde-232) by [Christine D. Kim](https://x.com/christine_dkim) - [Notes](https://etherworld.co/highlights-from-the-all-core-developers-execution-acde-call-232/) by [Yash Kamal Chaturved](https://x.com/YashKamalChatu1) - [All Core Devs - Testing (ACDT) #74, March 16, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr4osj2u4-U) hosted by [parithosh](https://x.com/parithosh_j) covered updates from Glamsterdam devnets. - [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1966) by [parithosh](https://x.com/parithosh_j) - [Encrypt The Mempool #2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=109IE6-yDfg) hosted by [Justin Florentine](https://x.com/RoboCopsGoneMad) discussed the latest updates related to [EIP-8184: LUCID encrypted mempool](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/eip-8184-lucid-encrypted-mempool/28017). - [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1969) by [Justin Florentine](https://x.com/RoboCopsGoneMad) - [Glamsterdam Repricings #4, Mar 18, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmEkzVXxsMc) hosted by [Maria Inês Silva](https://x.com/misilva73) discussed [EIP-8037: State Creation Gas Cost Increase](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-8037), benchmark updates, and more. - [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1973) by [Maria Inês Silva](https://x.com/misilva73) - [Fast Confirmation Rule (FCR) #5, March 17, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZumsAbw9bfo) hosted by [Will Corcoran](https://x.com/corcoranwill) covered specification updates, client implementations, and testing of [Fast Confirmation Rule](https://fastconfirm.it/). - [Agenda](https://github.com/ethereum/pm/issues/1967) by [Will Corcoran](https://x.com/corcoranwill) # Other - [FCR — Fast Confirmation Rule](https://fastconfirm.it/) by [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation) presents a feature for CL clients that reduces L2 and CEX deposit confirmation times to a single slot, _without_ requiring a hard fork. - [Thread](https://x.com/adietrichs/status/2033863884067475634) by [Ansgar Dietrichs](https://x.com/adietrichs) - [Post](https://x.com/binji_x/status/2033870230049476762) by [binji](https://x.com/binji_x) * * * ✉ [**Sign up here**](https://flashbots.net/the-mev-letter) if you’d like to get The MEV Letter straight to your inbox! 🔮 [Explore previous editions via The MEV Letter explorer](https://collective.flashbots.net/t/explorer/100) ⚡ [Join Flashbots](https://www.flashbots.net/jobs)