Alex Obadia, co-founder of Ethereum infrastructure services platform, Flashbots, has announced that he is quitting the company after three years. He made the announcement through a Twitter post, saying,

“After almost 3 years building flashbots, I’ve decided it’s time for me to leave. Thanks to my co-founders and the entire Flashbots crew for three memorable years.”

$1.5 billion and counting

Obadia reminisced that the software that the company built has become invaluable to miners, despite the fact that no one gave it a chance of success when the team conceptualized it. According to him, 85% of Ethereum miners have adopted the MEV-GETH, and the company has earned $1.5 billion and counting since its introduction to the market. He highlighted the success of the software that the team has built and the fact that it averted what he termed “the early risk that we saw looming on Ethereum.”

On why he is leaving Flashbots, Obadia said that his journey into the MEV is not limited to the confines of Flashbots. He also said that he’s not abandoning his interest in the discipline with his exit from the company. Rather, he is of the opinion that his vision and values would be better served elsewhere.

More challenges ahead of Flashbots

He added that,

“Looking ahead, Flashbot faces serious challenges. The system we committed to protecting is still vulnerable to centralization due to phenomena such as cross-domain MEV and exclusive orderflow. To top it off, as we’ve grown into an incumbent, we now also need to protect the system against ourselves to avoid becoming the very Moloch we’re fighting against.”

In his blog, Obadia said that he is exploring what is happening in the world before starting something new.

About MEV

Flashbots is one of the pioneers of MEV, a drive to see the blockchain network become more decentralized. MEV stands for “Miner Extractable Value”. It refers to the monetary value that miners can extract from a given blockchain by exploiting the mechanics of the network. This can include things like front-running transactions, reordering the sequence of transactions, or even censoring certain transactions.

MEV has become a hot topic in the blockchain community, as it can have a significant impact on the overall security and integrity of a blockchain. Some researchers are even exploring ways to mitigate the effects of MEV on the network in order to ensure a fairer and more equitable blockchain ecosystem.