Blocknative, a company that offers solutions for Ethereum blockchain transactions, declared on Tuesday that it will stop offering support for its MEV-Boost Relay, a form of programme used by network validators. The choice was made following internal deliberations between the company’s management and board of directors. By September 27, users are encouraged to remove the Blocknative Relay from their validator setups.
According to CEO Matt Cutler, Blocknative will continue to provide other essential services including the Polygon estimator, Ethereum gas estimator, mempool explorer, and transaction simulator. Cutler stated that the company’s financial goals were not being met by the business and that attempts to implement financial incentives at the relay layer were unsuccessful.
By rearranging or replacing transactions in a block before they are uploaded to the blockchain, validators and builders can charge users a “invisible tax” known as MEV, or Maximal Extractable Value. Through MEV-Boost, a middleware created by research and development company Flashbots, Ethereum validators primarily earn MEV. Cutler pointed out that while maintaining a relay and providing block-building services requires a lot of effort and knowledge, there is little financial incentive for a neutral actor like Blocknative to do so. Some influential people in the MEV-Boost industry have voiced worries about the company becoming overly centralized.
