The Inevitability of MEV

The article argues that MEV, profit extracted by reordering, including, or excluding transactions within a block, is an inevitable feature of blockchain markets that should be reduced or distributed rather than eliminated. It cites MEV extraction doubling from $550 million in 2021 to $1.1 billion in 2024, with Ethereum responsible for roughly 75% of extraction to date and sandwich attacks making up 66% of its MEV volume over the last 30 days. The article describes Ethereum's move toward Proposer-Builder Separation, with Flashbots' MEV-Boost used by over 90% of Ethereum validators as of early 2025, as a way to spread MEV opportunities more broadly.