The Blockchain Socialist MEV is a time traveling god and we must nationalize the designers with Anuj Das Gupta
Jan 21, 2025
Anuj Das Gupta, co-founder of Smart Transactions and MEV researcher, dives into the intriguing world of maximum extractable value. He likens MEV to time travel, where transaction manipulation alters outcomes in blocks. The discussion spans the implications of capitalism's control of time and the reimagining of freedom through communism. Gupta argues for nationalizing designers to prioritize user rights and suggests airdrops as glimpses of abundance. With practical insights on transaction unions, he champions a user-centric approach to blockchain design.
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Ride-Hailing Metaphor For Matching
- Anuj compares on-chain matching to everyday apps like Grab to show matching extends beyond token swaps.
- He uses real-world ride matching to illustrate how solvers can generalize swap mechanics to many marketplaces.
MEV As Short-Duration Time Travel
- MEV lets solvers reorder transactions within a block to change outcomes and effectively 'time travel' in a 12-second window.
- That brief present tense lets whoever controls bundles act like a god over transaction order and outcomes.
Trustlessness Is Programmable Time Travel
- Blockchain immutability and verifiable code function as a kind of virtual time travel to past and future promises.
- Trustlessness is effectively a guarantee about future states without needing to visit them physically.