Hi everyone, I'm Xingchen.
When trading on Web3, especially when exchanging tokens on DEXs, you might have encountered this situation: you clearly see a price of 100, but the transaction price becomes 99.5.
Where did that 0.5 go? It's very likely "stolen" by MEV bots.
MEV (Extractable Value) is the dark forest of Web3. It refers to validators or bots maliciously reordering transactions in your block to arbitrage against you. The most common example is the "sandwich attack."
So, does Plasma, an L1 blockchain specializing in payments, have MEV? Does it affect us ordinary users?
Does Plasma have MEV?
First, we need to clarify one fact: theoretically, any public blockchain with a public mempool and smart contracts cannot completely eliminate MEV.
As long as there is arbitrage opportunity, bots will try to steal it.
But where are the hardest hit areas for MEVs?
They're on "all-purpose public chains" like Ethereum and Solana. This is because they host a massive number of complex DeFi protocols. For example, large-scale exchanges on Uniswap and massive liquidations on Aave. These are the most lucrative prey for MEV bots.
Second, why are Plasma's MEVs so few?
This is the huge advantage of Plasma's specialization.
Plasma's core positioning is a payment chain.
This means that 99% of transactions on the Plasma network will be of the simplest type: A transfers X stablecoins to B.
For this simple "transfer" transaction, the MEV is 0.
Bots cannot "sandwich" your transfer. Bots cannot "arbitrage" from your transfer.
Your transfer is a simple value transfer, with no "gaps" for MEV bots to exploit.
Third, where might MEVs exist on Plasma?
So, where will Plasma's MEVs be? It will only exist in one place: the native DEX within the Plasma ecosystem.
MEV bots only have an opportunity when you're not "transferring" but "exchanging" (e.g., exchanging USDT for USDC). They might try to preempt your transaction or launch a sandwich attack.
However, because Plasma's core is payments, the trading volume and complexity of its ecosystem's DEXs will be far lower than Ethereum's or Solana's.
Analysis: Ethereum's MEV is like a "high-traffic casino," bots are everywhere.
Plasma's MEV is more like a "small shop," where bots might just be loitering at the checkout counter, looking for an opportunity to profit from the difference.
IV. Possible "MEV-resistant" designs for Plasma
As a new L1, Plasma can learn from the lessons of its predecessors from the very beginning of its design.
It can easily introduce "anti-MEV" mechanisms at the consensus or protocol layer, such as: Fair transaction ordering: Instead of "highest bidder wins" (whoever pays more gas gets packaged first), a "first-come, first-served" ordering system is adopted, eliminating preemptive orders at the source. Encrypted mempool: This prevents bots from seeing the specific content of transactions before they are packaged, thus preventing attacks.
Starry Night Summary
For Plasma, MEV is not a concern at all.
Because its core business (payment and transfer) is naturally immune to MEV.
This is precisely one of its most underestimated advantages as a payment chain: it is not only cheap and stable, but also very "fair." Every payment you make is transparent and transparent, without the worry of being leeched by on-chain bots.
Having discussed MEV, let's talk about a real-world application scenario where it excels.
Plasma: The "last mile" solution for cross-border trade for SMEs. See you in the comments!
Disclaimer: The above content is only Starry Night's personal investment research analysis and does not constitute any investment advice. Investing involves risks; please invest cautiously!
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