NewsFlash Articles Data Fundraising Skill&API

MEV Protocol: MEV auction protocol competing with Flashbots.

Read this article in 7 Minutes

Manifold's mevETH introduces a new MEV auction system that supports multiple winners per time period, rather than just one. By minting mevETH with ETH, users can earn additional yield from multiple MEV strategies supported by the stack.

In July of this year, MEV operator Flashbots completed a Series B financing round of $60 million at a valuation of $1 billion. Currently, over 91% of the Ethereum validator market share is using the MEV Boost system.

Aside from Flashbots, Manifold Finance is also a protocol that can bring additional MEV revenue to Ethereum stakers. In April of this year, Manifold announced that they are developing their own LSD protocol - mevETH. mevETH will be a full-chain token that uses LayerZero technology and will reward stakers by capturing non-extractive MEV revenue.

In order to launch the protocol, Manifold acquired Cream Finance's validator set. This means that users who stake ETH on Cream Finance will now be staking on Manifold's liquid staking protocol. When the protocol launches, this will give it control over more than 20,000 ETH.

Team Introduction

This project is jointly launched by Manifold Finance and Cream Finance. It will be led by Leo Cheng, co-founder of Cream Finance, and Sam Bacha, founder of Manifold Finance and a contributor to Yearn Finance, will serve as the chief architect. In addition, the team has also hired well-known figures in the Ethereum community, Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax, and 0xMaki, as advisors.

mevETH

On October 5th, Manifold Finance officially launched the MEV Protocol and integrated the liquidity staking token mevETH. Unlike the existing Flashbots MEV Boost system, the mevETH introduced by Manifold features a new MEV auction system that supports multiple winners in each time period instead of just one. Users can earn additional profits from multiple MEV strategies supported by the stack by using ETH to mint mevETH. Initially, the protocol will profit from the price difference between ETH and mevETH. Additionally, as they will run their own validators, they will be able to create custom blocks and ensure that these blocks are included on the chain.

The team stated that this protocol adopts a vertical integration approach, fully utilizing the potential of relayers, block proposers, and block builders to enhance the MEV supply chain. This strategy aims to provide the most effective way to obtain value within the system. In this innovative framework, the reward pathways are diversified, including validator base fees, liquidity provider incentives, and groundbreaking MEV concepts, allowing for multiple auction winners during block construction.

Based on this, the new auction system will provide a solid foundation for supporting more advanced applications, including futures markets for handling priority-sensitive transactions, multi-period bidding for block builders, and re-support for ERC-20 tokens. In addition, the protocol also plans to support new lending protocols and integrate with DeFi platforms such as Yearn.

Manifold Finance stated that since August, over 28,000 ETH have been staked in the mevETH protocol and rewards have been earned. The team has also introduced a simplified process where users can now deposit ETH directly on the website and mint mevETH.

In addition, the team has also collaborated with Cream Finance, and the migration from CRETH2 to mevETH has been launched. The ETH staked under crETH2 has already been staked on the MEV protocol validator. In order to mint mevETH, the crETH2 token is treated as ETH. The exchange rate from crETH2 to ETH is completed through redemption ratio, with 1 crETH2 exchanging for 1.13 ETH.

Users will accumulate rewards through the use of the protocol in the early stages, which will be distributed to them in the form of ETH. After a period of operation and testing (as early as next month), the protocol will enable the withdrawal function of ETH, allowing users to extract the value they have accumulated in the protocol in the form of ETH.