Validated Prop AMMs, MEV, and the Realities of Solana's Roadmap w/ Connor (Temporal) and Brennan Watt (Anza)
Aug 26, 2025
Brennan Watt, who works at Anza, joins Connor to dive into the complexities of Solana's decentralized finance landscape. They discuss the innovative Prop AMMs and their efficiency in trading. The two explore the challenges of market making and arbitrage, emphasizing the need for improved market structures. They tackle scalability issues and the potential downsides of centralized leadership in decentralized networks. Geographic decentralization’s impact on market dynamics and MEV's role in price discovery also take center stage in this insightful conversation.
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What A Prop AMM Actually Is
- Connor describes a Prop AMM as a "black box with money" that actively buys and sells shitcoins from users.
- He emphasizes the secrecy of its decision logic as the defining feature that differentiates it from traditional AMMs.
Tighter Spreads With Smarter Discretion
- Connor argues prop AMMs can quote tighter spreads and provide liquidity with less capital than traditional AMMs.
- He highlights they selectively treat orders and optimize for retail-heavy flow to maximize volume on lower inventory.
Embed Decision Logic In Programs
- Build decision logic into the program rather than only relying on external flow scoring if you want practical control.
- Prioritize integrating off-chain price discovery and heuristics directly into on-chain programs for speed and discretion.