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MEV Explained: A Practical Guide

A clear, data-driven guide to mev explained.

Definition

Maximal extractable value is profit a block producer or searcher can make by ordering, inserting or excluding transactions. Flashbots' MEV-Explore estimated over $600 million extracted on Ethereum before the Merge.

Arbitrage and liquidations

Benign MEV includes DEX arbitrage aligning prices across pools and liquidations that keep lenders solvent. Searchers compete in gas or tips, passing much of the profit to proposers.

Sandwich attacks

A searcher buys before a user's swap and sells after, profiting from the user's price impact. Setting low slippage limits and using private order flow like Flashbots Protect or CowSwap reduces exposure.

Proposer-builder separation

Since the Merge, about 90 percent of Ethereum blocks are built by specialized builders via MEV-Boost relays; proposers choose the highest bid. Enshrined PBS is a long-term research goal.

Solana MEV

On Solana, Jito's block engine runs auctions for bundles, with tips distributed to validators and JitoSOL stakers.

By the numbers

For MEV Explained, the reference figures are topic of MEV Explained, level of Intermediate, updated of 2026. The comparison table below lines up mev type, effect on users — Arbitrage: Neutral, aligns prices; Liquidation: Neutral, keeps solvency; Sandwich: Harmful, worse execution; Backrun: Neutral.

Modeling MEV Explained with the DEX Price Impact Slippage Calculator

The DEX Price Impact Slippage Calculator takes three inputs — Trade size ($), Pool liquidity ($), Fee (%). Impact ≈ trade ÷ (reserve + trade) + fee. With its default inputs (Trade size ($) = 50000; Pool liquidity ($) = 2000000; Fee (%) = 0.3) it returns 5.06 %; swap in the figures from MEV Explained above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling MEV Explained with the Flash Loan Arbitrage Net Profit Calculator

The Flash Loan Arbitrage Net Profit Calculator takes three inputs — Loan ($), Spread (%), Gas ($). Profit = loan × (spread − 0.05% fee) − gas. With its default inputs (Loan ($) = 1000000; Spread (%) = 0.4; Gas ($) = 80) it returns 3,420 $; swap in the figures from MEV Explained above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Data Table

For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and historical; crypto assets are volatile and you may lose capital. Do your own research.