Ethereum builder centralization and your contribution

In recent weeks, more than 90% of Ethereum blocks have been built by just two block builders: beaverbuild.org and titanbuilder.xyz. This trend is growing, and it’s likely these two will dominate nearly all block production soon, profiting massively from users transactions MEV. https://www.relayscan.io/builder-profit?t=7d

The driving force behind this centralization is XOF (private orderflow), as explained by Toni Wahrstätter on X: https://x.com/nero_eth/status/1846786871998759141

So, where does this private orderflow originate?

For titanbuilder.xyz, it partly comes from BananaGunBot (https://x.com/BananaGunBot), as seen in blocks like this one: https://etherscan.io/block/20959121

For beaverbuild.org, it comes from platforms like mevblocker.io (https://cow.fi/mev-blocker). Their FAQ states they submit to all major builders:

MEV Blocker submits to all major block builders, including Builder0x69, f1b, Flashbots, rsync builder, Titan Builder, Gambit Labs, and Beaver Build.

But there is a catch: who created MEV Blocker? according to their FAQ:

MEV Blocker is jointly formulated and maintained by CoW Protocol, Agnostic Relay, and Beaver Build. It is open to all searchers and block builders.

The last part seems questionable. With control over the order flow, who would rationally share most profitable or important transactions with competitors?

It gets worse: a bot operated by beaverbuild uses the same calldata as the notorious jaredfromsubway MEV bot (https://x.com/MevRefund/status/1835666845547815067), suggesting beaverbuild likely operates the jared bot. jaredfromsubway is known for sandwiching pretty much everything and everyone (https://etherscan.io/address/0x1f2f10d1c40777ae1da742455c65828ff36df387).

So, what’s my point? Avoid trading shitcoins, especially with BananaGun. And don’t use mevblocker.io (rather make sure you have set your slippage tolerance correctly), which appears to be little more than a hypocritical frontend for beaverbuild.

Cheers from someone who got sandwiched by jared.