MEV’s Incentive Structures

Action

MEV’s Incentive Structures fundamentally alter agent behavior within blockchain systems, incentivizing participants to reorder, include, or censor transactions for profit. This creates a dynamic where rational economic actors prioritize maximizing their own extraction over strict block propagation order, impacting network consensus. Consequently, the resulting actions often manifest as frontrunning, sandwich attacks, or liquidations, directly influencing market efficiency and user experience. Understanding these actions requires a game-theoretic framework, analyzing the cost-benefit of various MEV strategies against the risk of retaliation or protocol-level penalties.