原文标题：《Navigating the Dark Forest: Unraveling the Mysteries of the MEV Market Landscape》
Author: Ali
Compiled by: TechFlow
As blockchain technology continues to develop, MEV has become a topic of great interest. The MEV market is a complex and evolving field, so the classification introduced in this article may evolve over time. In any case, researcher Ali provides a detailed MEV market map in this article, exploring the complex world of MEV in 3 different categories:
1. Infrastructure;
2. Solution;
3. Application.
I. Infrastructure Layer
Starting with the infrastructure layer, which consists of “validators and stakers”. As anticipated from our early MEV research, the emergence of MPSV (MEV Profit Sharing Validators) has changed the market landscape, with many validators now offering enhanced MEV rewards alongside traditional staking yields. We have observed the rise of MPSV and LSD across different chains offering MEV rewards. Some notable validators offering MEV rewards to stakers include Cogent, Chainflow, Chorus One, and Stakefish.
Similarly, on the LSD side, many protocols are distributing MEV rewards among stakers, such as Manifold, Frax, Rocketpool, Laine (StakeWiz), Marinade Finance, and Lido. These market participants provide MEV rewards in addition to the returns from pure staking.
Above this subcategory, we find the core Block Builders and Relay participants. Block Builders are highly specialized participants who build blocks based on a sequential stream of transactions (public transactions, bundled transactions, private transactions, etc.). Relays accept blocks from builders and select the block with the most profit for the current proposer.
In the block builder category, there are some special players, such as Skip Protocol (Cosmos), which provides sovereign MEV infrastructure. Sovereign means that Skip is creating modular tools that allow application chains to fully control and customize transaction preference rules. Another participant is Jito, which is an MPSV and has its own liquid staking derivative jSOL.
Each blockchain ecosystem typically has its own MEV block builder provider (Ethereum may have multiple providers). Some examples include: Skip/Cosmos, Jito/Solana, Flashbots/Ethereum, Fastlane/Polygon. Two key insights emerged from this analysis:
We expect that existing (or new) blockchain ecosystems will continue to develop their own unique block builder providers. Leaders may emerge in each chain, reaping the benefits of increasing economies of scale.
There is a clear need for a cross-chain MEV solution, which should lead to collaboration with existing block builders to meet this need.
II. MEV Solution
MEV solutions encompass a range of tools and protocols designed to help extract, prevent, or popularize MEV across the ecosystem. One of the most notable subcategories of this segment is MEV cross-chain coordination, spearheaded by leaders such as Skip Protocol, Suave, and Anoma. The growing popularity of cross-chain, composability, and modularity naturally paves the way for new cross-chain and inter-chain MEV solutions.
Another interesting subcategory is the (shared) sequencer segment, which focuses on second-layer scaling solutions. Shared sequencers mitigate MEV-related risks by promoting fair and consistent transaction ordering, thereby limiting the opportunities for front-running and bots to exploit profitable trades.
Other emerging areas include NFT-related MEV solutions such as Pikapool, which aims to create a specific NFT memory pool and reduce any negative externalities of MEV. Other NFT-focused tools include snap-up and scarcity query tools that arbitrageurs can use to maximize profits and trade NFTs.
Finally, we think a new category that will start to develop will be the gaming MEV tools market.
Blockchain gaming is interesting because it often involves Defi (i.e. game tokens) as well as NFTs (i.e. game assets). As we see more and more innovation in the gaming space and the crypto gaming industry grows, we believe the time is ripe for MEV to enter. We saw MEV enter Defi, then NFTs, and considering that the main component of on-chain games is NFTs - it is natural for MEV to play a vital role here, especially with regard to user experience. Existing MEV players will capture this market, or we may see some new players emerge.
Some early examples of long-tail gaming MEV are mgnr developing a free market to sell locked $JEWEL tokens from Defi Kingdoms - this opens the door to all kinds of arbitrage opportunities for illiquid gaming tokens.
III. MEV Application Layer
The application layer includes end-user products across the MEV ecosystem. On the one hand, many DEXs and aggregators emphasize MEV prevention. On the other hand, other markets and trading platforms often encounter MEV arbitrage and liquidation.
One interesting category we are also seeing is niche specific markets for block space and payment for order flow. Examples of this include Alkimiya and DFLOW. It will be interesting to see how these markets are exploited and what new use cases emerge from them.
We predict that two important categories will emerge at this level:
NFT and gaming markets that offer MEV protection. Examples of NFT MEV include bot activity during mints, arbitrage opportunities involving floor prices, or liquidations of NFT loans. In terms of prevention, we are specifically referring to mitigating bot activity. As mentioned before, the growing popularity of on-chain gaming is likely to introduce various forms of MEV into the space. As such, gaming platforms must adapt their protocols to address these challenges.
MEV wallets. Wallets are the hub between users and decentralized applications, and we hope that wallets will start working with MEV solution providers or block builders to help users recapture MEV slippage they may have encountered, or even new forms of MEV.
In summary, the MEV Market Map provides a comprehensive overview of the complex and dynamic world of MEV. As the market continues to evolve, we remain committed to working with the broader community to improve and update this resource. Together, we can navigate the "dark forest" of MEV and illuminate the path to a more transparent, secure, and fair blockchain ecosystem.