Flashbots’ BuilderNet to address Ethereum block builder centralization

BuilderNet is a new block building network designed to return more MEV and gas fees to users

article-image

Flashbots and Adobe Stock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


Blockchains sell blocks. A complex market of actors are paid to assemble those blocks, but a part of that market — specifically block builders — is a duopoly between two players (Beaverbuild and Titan).

Source: Mevboost.pics

This duopoly is bad for various reasons, but chiefly in regard to maximal-extractable value (MEV).

MEV is believed to be monetary value that the end user creates, so returning it to them is ethically preferable. But when a few block builders dominate block building, that creates maximal value extraction that is suboptimal for the Ethereum end user.

To mitigate this, the Flashbots team announced today BuilderNet, a new block building network designed to return more MEV and gas fees to users.

Operating alongside Nethermind and the same Beaverbuild, BuilderNet looks to split up the presently “monolithic process” of block building.

This division of labor would allow existing stakeholders such as block builders, searchers and dapps to join a “multioperator network” and concurrently run the same block builder together. When blocks are assembled, rewards are then refunded back to stakeholders based on the amount of market value they’ve contributed to a block.

With BuilderNet, any application can permissionlessly and privately submit transaction order flow to a block builder and be paid for it on a pro rata basis.

Transactions stay private since the BuilderNet network will run in a “trusted execution environment” (TEE), an encrypted secure enclave that allows data to be processed without revealing order flow data.

Operators will also be able to permissionlessly deploy a block builder in BuilderNet.

According to official docs, this will enable an “even playing field where independent searchers can receive the same financial outcomes and privacy that integrated searcher-builders do today.”

BuilderNet in effect looks to thwart current industry practices in the block builder market that have sought to internalize MEV from end users. These include exclusive MEV revenue-sharing agreements between apps/wallets and block builders or other forms of vertical integration within the MEV supply chain between searchers and block builders.

Though BuilderNet will primarily benefit the Ethereum L1 today, it eventually plans to be available for decentralized sequencing on L2s through Rollup-Boost, the block building platform that will be used on Unichain.

Updated Dec. 11, 2024 at 3:51 pm ET: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Titan’s relayer accepted blocks exclusively from its own block builder, when in fact it accepts blocks permissionlessly from any block builder.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability