Ethereum News Today: Ethereum Pushes for Encrypted Mempool to Curb $1.8B in MEV Attacks

Ethereum is under increasing scrutiny regarding the fairness of its transaction processes, as critics argue that its current design favors predatory actors and undermines the trust necessary to attract institutional and retail investors. According to an opinion piece by Loring Harkness, Head of Commercial at brainbot GmbH and Shutter, the Ethereum Foundation’s recent trillion-dollar security initiative must address a core issue: the chain’s excessive transparency that enables malicious MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) [1].

The initiative aims to make Ethereum a more attractive platform for traditional finance, with a vision of billions of users storing more than $1,000 onchain. The blockchain has already seen significant adoption, with DeFi protocols managing over $64 billion in TVL and major Wall Street players like BlackRock and JPMorgan endorsing Ethereum-based products. However, the same openness that supports Ethereum’s decentralization also facilitates harmful practices such as front-running and sandwich attacks [1].

Ethereum’s public mempool—where transactions are broadcast before finalization—exposes users to manipulation. These attacks, which have cost users over $1.8 billion since 2020, exploit the transparency of the system to reorder transactions for profit [1]. While some solutions such as MEV-Boost have been proposed, they only redistribute the problem rather than solving it. According to Harkness, the only effective approach is to encrypt Ethereum’s mempool, ensuring transactions are only visible once they are committed to a block [1].

Such a change would require major architectural upgrades to Ethereum’s protocol, including updates to its consensus and execution mechanisms. While the implementation could take several years, the urgency is growing as Ethereum continues to attract institutional capital. Without addressing malicious MEV, the long-term security and viability of the platform remain at risk [1].

Harkness emphasizes that fairness must become the default on Ethereum. Any solution must be protocol-level and decentralized, avoiding the pitfalls of centralized MEV-prevention tools. The transition to an encrypted mempool system would not only protect users from predatory behavior but also enhance trust in the network, which is essential for Ethereum’s broader adoption [1].

The Ethereum community faces a critical decision: whether to implement these changes before institutional trust erodes. While the price of Ethereum may appear strong, the underlying security and fairness challenges must not be ignored [1].

Source: [1] Ethereum should limit transparency for a fairer blockchain (https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-transparency-for-a-fairer-blockchain?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)