According to CoinDesk, MetaMask, the most popular cryptocurrency wallet on Ethereum, launched a new feature this week designed to help users avoid the Maximum Extractable Value (MEV).
This optional new feature, called “Smart Transactions,” will allow users to submit transactions to a “virtual transaction pool” before they are officially put on the chain. According to MetaMask developer Consensys, this virtual trading pool will prevent certain types of MEV strategies and will help users obtain lower trading fees through simulated trading.
MEV refers to blockchain operators making additional profits from users by previewing or reordering transactions, which can sometimes be compared to behind-the-scenes/pre-trading behavior in traditional financial markets. MEV has many negative impacts on the operation of Ethereum, such as increasing user costs, slowing down transactions, and even causing transaction failures under certain network conditions.
Jason Linehan, Director of the Special Mechanics Group at Consensys, said in an interview:
“$400 million a year is wasted on transaction reversals, transaction stuck, and very obviously predatory MEV front-running and sandwich attacks. Everyone agrees that this is a huge problem. From a user experience perspective, what do you think about it? Paying for a transaction that does nothing is simply ridiculous.”
MetaMask's solution (its virtual transaction pool) is somewhat similar to a private transaction pool, which is increasingly popular in the Ethereum ecosystem and can effectively ensure transaction privacy and prevent MEV. This feature is the first step in MetaMask’s development roadmap, which aims to fundamentally change how MetaMask routes transactions to Ethereum behind the scenes.
However, private transaction pool services sometimes raise centralization concerns because they allow middlemen to gain access to transactions before they are posted to Ethereum. In response to this concern, Consensys emphasized that its virtual transaction pool is different and necessary to address Ethereum’s huge hidden costs. Jason Linehan said:
"We're not planning to take over Ethereum or anything like that, but if it's wasting $400 million of users' money every year on completely useless things, then it can't be the foundational layer of the future of the global economy. That's pure waste."
This article MetaMask launches a new "intelligent trading" function! Preventing MEV attacks to save users wallets first appeared in Zombit.
