Mar 12, 20257 min readScalability & SettlementIntermediate

MEV-Resistance vs the 'Dark Forest'

Contrasting global DeFi 'dark forest' MEV mempools with Ergo's MEV-aware eUTXO local ordering design.

Ergo

MEV

maximal extractable value

transaction ordering

DeFi

mempool

Ethereum

eUTXO

local ordering

front-running

Click to Enlarge

About This Infographic

This graphic compares two very different MEV environments: the 'dark forest' of global DeFi mempools on Ethereum-style chains and Ergo's MEV-aware, local ordering design built on eUTXO.

Side A shows a shared public mempool where user transactions become prey for MEV bots and searchers. They scan pending txs, simulate strategies and bid in priority gas auctions to run sandwiches, backruns and liquidations around popular DeFi contracts.

Side B shows Ergo's approach: eUTXO with many local states and local mempools, no single global AMM-style mempool and no global priority gas auction. Miners and pools order transactions locally, shrinking the MEV surface and making many 'dark forest' tactics less straightforward.

Key Points

Global DeFi mempools behave like a 'dark forest' where MEV bots hunt user transactions with priority gas auctions.

Ergo's eUTXO model and local ordering avoid a single global AMM-style mempool and shrink the MEV surface by design.

In dark-forest environments, specialized searchers and builders capture most MEV; on Ergo, value tends to stay with miners and protocol users.

Ergo does not magically delete MEV, but it reduces shared choke points and makes typical user UX less adversarial.

How to Read This Infographic

01.

Start with Side A ('Dark Forest' DeFi) to see how a global mempool plus DeFi contracts create MEV-rich search spaces.

02.

Look at Side B (Ergo) to understand how eUTXO and local mempools change where and how ordering games can happen.

03.

Use the table to compare where front-running occurs, who captures value, typical UX and how L1 mitigates MEV.

04.

Finish with the bottom banner: Ergo doesn't erase MEV, but it shrinks the 'dark forest' by design.

Usage Guidelines

• You can use this infographic in presentations, blog posts, or educational materials
• Please keep the attribution link to ergoblockchain.org
• For custom branding or editable files, contact the Ergo community

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  <img
    src="https://ergoblockchain.org/infographics/mev-resistance-vs-dark-forest.png"
    alt="Infographic titled MEV-Resistance vs the Dark Forest comparing global DeFi-style mempools on Ethereum with Ergo's MEV-aware local ordering and eUTXO design."
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<p style="font-size:12px; color:#888;">
  Source: <a href="https://ergoblockchain.org/infographics/mev-resistance-vs-dark-forest?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ergoblockchain.org</a>
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