Brothers, Azu's here. Today we're talking about a "high-level" strategy, a "must-know" survival and "gold-digging" logic for "grinding" – MEV (Maximum Extractable Value). Have you ever had this bizarre experience while "grinding" in The Surge: you use 1000U to "swap" on a DEX, setting the slippage to 1%, but when the transaction is completed, exactly 0.99% of your slippage is taken, leaving you "inexplicably" "losing" 10U? You think this is "market fluctuation"? Azu's telling you, you've "most likely" been "sandwiched." This is what "MEV bots" do, technically called a "Sandwich Attack." The "bot" (Searcher) sees your lucrative order in the "mempool," buys it "instantly" one millisecond before you do (raising the price), and then sells it one millisecond after you take the bait. Your 10U slippage goes straight into its pocket. This is MEV. It's a "hidden tax" on L2! It's money that "bots" and "miners" (in L2, "sorters") are "legally" stealing from us "traders"! It includes "sandwich attacks," "DEX arbitrage," "liquidation," and more. On Ethereum L1, this "dark forest" generates hundreds of millions of dollars in "profit" every day. Now, the terrifying question arises: on Linea, where does this "hidden tax" go? On Ethereum L1, at least there's an "auction" mechanism like "Flashbots," where "bots" bid for their turn, and profits are relatively "distributed." But on Linea "today," let me tell you a "cruel" "truth": Linea's "Sequencer" (the central control room for "packaging transactions") is **"100% centralized"**, it's "100%" controlled by "ConsenSys" (the parent company). What does this mean? ConsenSys is "not" "legally" "profiting" from our "Gas spread" (the huge profits from EIP-4844, which we discussed in the previous article). It also "100% monopolizes" the "MEV extraction rights" across the entire Linea chain! It (ConsenSys) is the "only" "God" in the Linea universe. It can "view" all "unconfirmed" transactions "at will," and it can be the "most powerful" "sandwich robot" itself. It "acts as both referee and player." This "hidden tax" is entirely at the whim of the company – how much it collects, and whose pocket it puts in. It's an absolute "profit black box." (Azu suggests: A diagram of an "L2 MEV monopoly" could be inserted here. Draw a scenario where a "user" submits a transaction, which is "intercepted" by a "centralized sorter" (with the ConsenSys logo). The sorter extracts MEV profits from the transaction and then "packages" the "sorted" transactions onto the blockchain.) Of course, ConsenSys is a "respectable" company; it might "disdain" directly "squeezing" us "small investors." But the existence of this "absolute power" is the "biggest" hidden danger. Moreover, in order to "win" its "lawsuit" with the "SEC" (which we've discussed), ConsenSys "must" relinquish this "absolute power" and develop a "decentralized sorter." This leads to Linea's future "most valuable" "gold mine": this "MEV profit," this "massive" "hidden tax," who will ultimately benefit? This is the "ultimate question" determining the "value" of the LINEA token! My analysis suggests that Linea's future handling of this "MEV profit" will fall into four categories: "Protocol dividend" model (most likely): Linea will create an "auction" market (similar to Flashbots), where "bots" will "publicly bid" to "legally" "extract" MEV. All "auction" proceeds will be **100% "dividend"** distributed to all "holders" of "staking LINEA tokens." "Deflationary buyback" model: Similar to the above, MEV will be "auctioned," but the "revenue" will not be "dividend" but will be used "entirely" to "buy back and burn" LINEA tokens from the "secondary market," creating "strong deflation." "Robin Hood" model (most Web3): Linea... The proposed "MEV protection" mechanism aims to "snatch" MEV profits back from the "bots" (e.g., using "encrypted memory pools") and then "return" them to the "squeezed" users. The "computing power network" model packages MEV profits as "extra rewards" and distributes them to the "miners" of the "decentralized proof-of-concept" (Prover). Brothers, think about this carefully. If Linea chooses "3" or "4," then the "value capture" of the LINEA token is very "indirect" and rather "illusory." But what if Linea chooses "1" or "2"? (Azu suggests: A "dual-engine" diagram of "LINEA value capture" could be inserted here. The left side represents [Gas fee difference], and the right side represents [MEV auction revenue]. Both "arrows" point to [LINEA Stakers/Burn], forming a "super value closed loop.")The LINEA token will no longer be a worthless governance coin! It will instantly evolve into a super-yielding asset! It simultaneously consumes two streams of cash flow: the overt Gas spread (L2's "toll") and the covert MEV auction (L2's "hidden tax"). These two cash flows combined will amount to an astronomical figure. This is the complete form of Linea, this "super money-printing machine"! Azu's ultimate conclusion: Don't just foolishly accumulate points; you need to understand the assets you will receive in the future and how they generate revenue. The Gas spread from the sorting mechanism is Linea's "A side," while the "MEV" hidden tax is its "B side." ConsenSys must be decentralized; it must hand over these two sources of revenue. How it delivers the token and to whom it delivers it directly defines the "soul" and "price" of the LINEA token. I, Azu, "bet" it will choose either "dividends" or "buybacks," because it needs the "strongest" value capture to "support" the "market capitalization" of its "Web3 empire." Brothers, do you think Linea will have a "change of heart" and "return the benefits to the people" (Mode 3)? Or will it "pragmatically" "empower" the token (Modes 1 and 2)?