Extractable Value Mitigation

Definition ∞ Extractable Value Mitigation refers to strategies and protocol designs aimed at reducing or eliminating the ability of network participants to gain unfair profits from transaction ordering. This practice, often called Maximal Extractable Value (MEV), involves front-running, back-running, or sandwich attacks that disadvantage regular users. Mitigation efforts seek to level the playing field, ensuring transaction processing remains equitable and predictable. The goal is to preserve the integrity and fairness of decentralized systems.
Context ∞ Extractable value mitigation is a significant area of research and development within the blockchain community, particularly for proof-of-stake networks. Developers are exploring various approaches, including proposer-builder separation and encrypted mempools, to limit MEV opportunities. The ongoing challenge involves balancing censorship resistance with economic efficiency while preventing value extraction by block producers. News often covers new protocol upgrades and research findings related to these mitigation techniques.