Good news, blockchain folks! MetaMask, the most popular crypto wallet on Ethereum, launched a new feature this week called "Smart Transactions" that aims to help us avoid the consequences of Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). This new feature will allow us to submit transactions to a "virtual memory pool" before they are officially written to the blockchain, preventing certain types of MEV strategies while also helping us get lower fees, isn't it great?

MEV is the extra profit that blockchain operators extract from us users by previewing or reordering transactions, and is sometimes likened to the unethical "front-running" behavior in traditional financial markets. MEV has a significant impact on the way Ethereum operates, increasing our fees, slowing down transactions, and even causing transactions to fail under certain network conditions.

MetaMask's solution - virtual memory pool - is somewhat similar to private memory pools, which have become an increasingly popular strategy for ensuring transaction privacy and preventing MEV. This is the first step in MetaMask's more ambitious roadmap to completely change how MetaMask routes transactions to Ethereum internally.

What do you think of this new feature? Feel free to share your views in the comments section!