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April 13, 2023

Chris Meisl | CTO & Co-Founder | @cmeisl

Latency Wars

�The constant fight for lower latency

Copyright 2023 Blocknative Corporation

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Why is latency so important?

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Information Advantage�=�Trade Advantage�=�$$$

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Whenever latency is important

we’re talking about serious infrastructure

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Infrastructure Matters

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User

Searcher

Wallet

Mempool

Builder

Validator

Relay

Transaction / MEV Pipeline

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User

Searcher

Wallet

Mempool

Builder

Validator

Relay

Lets Focus on Signed Transaction & Block Delivery

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Compute Latency

Transport Latency�

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Mempool

mempool

mempool

mempool

mempool

mempool

mempool

No Single Mempool

Compute Latency

​

dedupe

transaction validation

chain state checks

​

​

Transport Latency

�peering distance

link quality

peering changes

liveliness of peers

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Mempool

Responses�

�Validation Shortcuts

More Chain State Caching

Private Networks - BDN

Optimized Peering - Peri(gee)

​

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Compute Latency

​

transaction parsing & filtering

simulation

​

​

Transport Latency

�sending bundles to builder

builder rate limits

​

Searcher

Mempool

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Responses�

�Proprietary compute improvements

Bundle timing in slot period

Co-locate with builder

​

Searcher

Mempool

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Compute Latency

​

bundle validation - validity, value, filters

bundle prioritization

block simulation

​

​

Transport Latency

�receiving bundles from searchers

sending bundles to relay

relay rate limits

​

Builder

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Responses�

�Proprietary compute improvements

Block timing in slot period

Co-locate with a relay

​

Builder

Searcher

Mempool

Builder

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Compute Latency

​

signature verification

fee recipient verification

block simulation - validity, bid, filters

​

​

Transport Latency

�receiving blocks from builders

sending blocks to validators

​

Relay

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Responses�

�Proprietary network with distributed edges

Distributed relays

Co-locate with builder

Co-locate with validator pools

​

Relay

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TradFi Latency Wars - HFT

​

Fast Links - Fiber, Microwave, LEO Satellite

Co-location at exchanges

FPGA compute

​

Response

Social Pressure - IEX opt-in (<3%)

Regulatory Changes ?!

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Infrastructure Matters

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How does this affect

searcher, builder and relay activity today?

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Consolidation through searcher builder co-location

​

Centralization through proprietary networks

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Is MEV dystopia unavoidable?

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No���Searching is dynamic - new protocols, new opportunities

​

Builders differentiate on blockspace offerings

​

Relays serve different validator preferences

(and are temporary with in-protocol PBS)

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Continue the conversation

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March 2, 2023

Chris Meisl | @cmeisl

Thank you

�

Copyright 2023 Blocknative Corporation