This Paradigm-backed project is making Ethereum's technical underbelly more accessible

Episode 91 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Viktor Bunin, protocol specialist at Coinbase and Stephane Gosselin, MEV boost architect & co-founder of Flashbots.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on AppleSpotifyGoogle PodcastsStitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to [email protected].


In the crypto world, MEV (‘Maximal Extractable Value’) refers to block producers’ ability to reorganize the sequence of transactions in any given block to extract a premium.

While MEV can be used nefariously in instances such as front-running large transactions, it can also be used for arbitrage opportunities that do not directly impact other market participants.

In this episode of The Scoop, we take a closer look at the world of MEV with Viktor Bunin, a protocol specialist at Coinbase, and Stephane Gosselin, the founder of Flashbots — a research project that provides MEV solutions to Ethereum validators.

According to Gosselin, the purpose of Flashbots is to make markets more efficient:

“We look at market structures, we research them and we develop products to try to improve them, and make sure that they're aligned with the intent of the chains that they're operating on top of.”

How Flashbots works in practice is essentially by creating a separate layer where users can bid against each other to have their transactions included on the blockchain. 

As Bunin explains,

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“It essentially creates a private mempool or a ‘fastlane’ where it says, ‘Hey, you're welcome to compete all you'd like, but you should do it at this layer,’ and then there will be a standardized way by which whoever is a winning bid — essentially the winning transaction — that will be the one that gets included on the blockchain and no others.”

During this episode, Chaparro, Bunin, and Gosselin also discuss:

  • How Coinbase Cloud plans to integrate Flashbots’ tech
  • What Flashbots is doing to mitigate centralization concerns
  • Why Flashbot’s MEV Boost redistributes value more efficiently than traditional finance

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Chainalysis & IWC Schaffhausen

About Tron
TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized Web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |

About Chainalysis
Chainalysis is the leading blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies in over 60 countries. Backed by Accel, Addition, Benchmark, Coatue, Paradigm, Ribbit, and other leading firms in venture capital, Chainalysis builds trust in blockchains to promote more financial freedom with less risk. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com.

About IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Known for its unique engineering approach to watchmaking, IWC combines the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge technology and processes. With collections like the Portugieser and the Pilot’s Watches, the brand covers the whole spectrum from elegant timepieces to sports watches. For more information, visit IWC.com.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].