Briefing
The core research problem is the persistent centralization of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) extraction, even under Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) frameworks. The foundational breakthrough is an economic model analyzing Execution Tickets (ETs), a proposed mechanism for the protocol to capture MEV, which demonstrates that while ETs can extract all MEV under ideal conditions, the presence of heterogeneous buyers with differing capital costs leads to a critical centralization vector. The single most important implication is that capital advantage, rather than technical expertise, emerges as the dominant centralizing force in the block-building supply chain, requiring future blockchain architecture to incorporate financial constraints into mechanism design to achieve true decentralization.
Context
The established theoretical limitation in Proof-of-Stake systems is the centralization risk inherent in the MEV supply chain, often attributed to the technical specialization and vertical integration of block builders and searchers. The community-wide solution, PBS, aimed to solve this by separating the proposer’s role from the builder’s, creating a competitive market for block construction. However, the foundational challenge remained ∞ whether any auction-based mechanism could truly distribute the opportunity to extract value without creating a new bottleneck of capital or expertise.
Analysis
The paper models the market for Execution Tickets , which represent the right to construct a block, as an auction where the protocol is the seller. Conceptually, this differs from prior approaches by moving the MEV-capture mechanism into the core protocol layer. The logic demonstrates that if all buyers are perfectly risk-neutral and have zero capital cost, the protocol captures 100% of the MEV.
The analysis introduces heterogeneity (varying capital costs and risk aversion) and finds that a buyer with a lower cost of capital can consistently outbid others, effectively establishing a dominant position. This mechanism shows that the ability to finance the purchase of ETs, rather than the technical skill of block building, is the new point of centralization.
Parameters
Outlook
This research fundamentally re-frames the MEV decentralization challenge from a technical problem to an economic one, forcing a strategic shift in future protocol design. The next steps will involve designing mechanisms that specifically disincentivize or penalize the concentration of capital advantage, perhaps through non-linear reward structures or capital-cost-aware bidding rules. In the next 3-5 years, this theory could unlock new, capital-agnostic block-building architectures, ensuring that the benefits of Proposer-Builder Separation are realized without creating a new class of financial centralizers.
Verdict
The economic analysis of Execution Tickets proves that capital concentration is a persistent, mechanism-agnostic threat to the decentralization of blockchain block production.
