Arbitrum’s Timeboost Generates $2 Million in Fees, Enhances Transaction Efficiency

Arbitrum’s innovative transaction ordering policy, Timeboost, has successfully generated over $2 million in fees since its launch in April 2025. This milestone is significant for the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution and its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Timeboost was designed to improve transaction sequencing efficiency and mitigate Miner Extractable Value (MEV) issues by introducing an “express lane” where users can bid for priority inclusion of their transactions.

Over half a trillion dollars in swaps have been processed by DEX’s on Arbitrum, a huge milestone that wouldn’t be possible without projects such as CamelotDEX, Uniswap, 0xfluid, and many more. This system not only curbs the negative externalities caused by latency races among MEV searchers but also channels the value generated back to the ArbitrumDAO treasury, which currently holds approximately 3.5 billion ARB tokens, valued at roughly $1.3 billion.

Unlike the traditional First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) model, which often suffers from congestion and spam due to MEV searchers flooding the network to secure profitable arbitrage opportunities, Timeboost employs a sealed-bid, second-price auction mechanism. This approach enables the Arbitrum chains—specifically, Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova—to capture MEV revenue, reduce network spam, and maintain fast block times, while protecting users from front-running and sandwich attacks.

Since its adoption, Timeboost has processed hundreds of thousands of transactions, accounting for approximately 20–30% of daily decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on Arbitrum. The Timeboost policy is optional and customizable by chain owners, who can adjust parameters such as the delay imposed on non-express lane transactions to optimize performance and user experience. Adjustments to critical parameters require governance votes, ensuring community oversight and adaptability to market conditions.

Despite its benefits, some community members have expressed concerns about potential centralization risks and the economic impact of monetizing sequencer revenue, emphasizing the need for ongoing evaluation and transparency. The Offchain Labs team, responsible for Timeboost’s development, continues to refine the system based on real-world data and independent audits to balance revenue generation with network security and decentralization.

In summary, Arbitrum’s Timeboost policy has not only generated significant revenue but also enhanced transaction efficiency on the network. By addressing MEV issues and providing a more efficient transaction sequencing mechanism, Timeboost has positioned Arbitrum as a leading Layer-2 solution. However, the community's concerns about centralization and the economic impact of monetizing sequencer revenue highlight the need for continuous evaluation and transparency in the implementation of such policies. The Offchain Labs team's commitment to refining the system based on real-world data and independent audits is crucial for maintaining the balance between revenue generation and network security and decentralization.