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NEWS Updates
Ethereum Engineers Ahead of the Merge are Resolving a Possible Bug that addressed the malicious relay, the same issues would persist, preventing the production of blocks forever.
Options on the table During the call, it was suggested that a circuit breaker be introduced. Duping other validators can result in monopolization of MEV earnings. A simple solution would be to write code that automatically turns off the validator if a block is missed. Blocks could be deliberately withheld if validators did this.
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thereum developers discussed solutions during the network's 92nd Consensus Layer Call to an upcoming snag in the implementation of the impending Merge between Ethereum's current proof-of-work (PoW) protocol and the Beacon Chain's proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. A researcher at the Ethereum Foundation raised concerns about a possible failure of MEV-boost. Communication between relay operators, who act as intermediaries between block builders and validators, could be affected by the vulnerability. As a result, blocks may or may not be added to the blockchain in an orderly manner. This complication should not affect the timeline of the Merge.
How does MEV-boost work? For Ethereum, the MEV-boost is essential to achieving "maximum extractible value." The MEV increases when transactions within a block are
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inserted or reordered by miners (under PoW) or block builders (under PoS). Validators can request blocks from a network of builders using MEV-boost, which helps avoid MEV centralization. Following the Merge, those interacting with the network will send their transactions over the blockchain. These blocks will then be collected by MEVboost and made available to validators. A set of validators will select and propose to the Ethereum network the most profitable blocks. The entire PoS blockchain can be disrupted if the MEV-boost malfunctions. A relay operator may have a glitch that prevents a block from being released at the right time. If a relay is unable to alert validators to malicious behavior, the validator will not be able to propose a block. MEV-boost validators would miss a series of blocks as a result. If the next set of validators were compromised, if they proposed a block
A public monitoring system for MEV activity is already in development by the Flashbots team, the developers of MEV-boost. A third-party dashboard could also be used to monitor the relays, according to other developers. Several options exist to solve the MEV-boost issue, according to Ben Edgington, the lead product owner for Teku at ConsenSys. Choosing the right approach is all it takes.". The research associate at Galaxy Digital, Christine Kim, noted, "The trust in relay operators for earning MEV has always been known, but before Thursday's call, it was unknown that relay operators could cause network downtime potentially." According to Stokes, developers are exploring options that would have users wait for the Merge to complete before using the builder or introducing a circuit breaker. He said the chances of an MEV-boost failure are meager, but he is pushing to implement a solution if one does occur.
August 2022 | Volume 35
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