MEV Relays for Ethereum 2.0
By: Daniel Tao, Sr. Product Manager
Questions about MEV Relay
With the Ethereum Merge approaching, validators, no matter how big or small, are exploring the options of how they can make more APY with their operation. No doubt, MEV is the first to come to our minds. Next, come the questions. Which MEV relay shall validators connect to? Should I connect to multiple relays? If so, what are the benefits?
In this article, we will answer your questions and help validators to implement better practices.
What are the trustworthy MEV relays available out there?
“There seems to be a lot of nuances and strong opinions around MEV. Some relays might be censoring transactions, some relays might not be ethical. The environment makes it hard for anyone to recommend a good list of relays.” This statement was made by one of the core devs at EthStaker. Each player and its work among the MEV supply chain, (user → wallet → searcher → builder → relay → validator) will become more fragmented, especially MEV searching and block building which will become a very complicated and specialized process. At the same time, being a searcher or a builder, you don’t want to risk any MEV stealing, deliberate delay, and other negative situations. Having a reputable relay that is trusted by both upstream and downstream players is the solution to solve this issue, at least for now.
We won’t be able to give you the best list of MEV relays. We expect more relays will be added after the merge. However, there are two relays operators, Flashbots and bloXroute Labs, which are trusted by the leading validators. (Recommended and used by Lido, Blockdaemon, and beyond). *Updated on 09/09/2022
At bloXroute, beyond just providing relays with no filtering at all (Max Profit), we customize our user experience for different types of MEV relays. There are a total of three types of relays you can choose from, based on your preference toward MEV.
Here are the definitions and differences between the three relays bloXroute is offering:
MEV Relay Instructions for Validators
Should I connect to Flashbots relay or bloXroute relay?
For the best performance, you want to connect to both relays at the same time. Why should I do that? What are the benefits? Are the benefits big enough to cover the time & effort required?
We believe there are at least two benefits validators will receive:
- Higher MEV profit. Flashbots and bloXroute relay may share the same blocks from time to time. However, NOT always. There are chances that Flashbots relay provides a higher MEV profit block than bloXroute relay does, and sometimes vice versa. Connecting to both relays grants you access to more block builders, which means more options (blocks) to choose from.
- Backup. We have to face the fact that either Flashbots or bloXroute relay could have been down. In that scenario, as a validator node operator, you will need a plan B, a backup relay. Connecting to both relays, or even more relays in the future, helps you minimize your downtime. Most importantly, less downtime means more profit.
Running validator nodes requires consistent optimization so it can provides higher yield for the stakeholders. To learn more about how not to miss other opportunities, check out this bloXroute article. ETH 2.0 Validators — Capturing MEV.
We always want to hear from users and partners. If you’re interested in using any of our services or have questions or ideas, please contact bizdev@bloxroute.com.
