So lotta peeps prefer reading text for context... something about providing a broader and more captivating insight so here it is.
THE VIDEO IN WORDS
@0xFastLane built a fair, decentralized way I call it an ' opportunity tool' for validators on Monad to earn MEV directly,
•without spam bots,
•private relays,
•or trusted middlemen.
First: Why are they building this, What problem are they solving? What is Fastlane actually doing.
Take a look at this.... Let's say...
»Someone is about to swap tokens
»A bot sees it and sneaks a trade before or after it (they place their own trade before yours, pushing the price up.)
»That bot makes money just because of how ordering works in blockchain.
Right now this is what typically happens:
Bots/searchers make most of the money
Validators (who actually make the blocks) get very little
The network gets flooded with spam transactions
But on Monad this is messy, so Why is MEV especially messy on Monad?
Monad works asynchronously:
Meaning When a searcher sees the blockchain state…
That state is already 3 blocks old
By the time their transaction executes, 2 more blocks have changed everything
WHAT DOES THIS CAUSE?
Searchers:
* Don’t know if an opportunity will still exist
* So they make multiple guesses on the network
* They send tons of heavy transactions hoping one hits
Because:
* Blocks are big
* Fees are cheap
* You pay full gas even if your logic doesn’t run
Result:
★It can increase transaction costs for normal users.
★It can cause unfair trading, like front-running.
★It can destabilize blockchains (causing downtime or lagging) if left unchecked.
‡ But if designed well, MEV can also be redirected to benefit users or the network instead of exploiters.
→This is What Fastlane introduces.
Fastlane Π Category Labs created a MEV Protocol with two main pieces:
1. MEV Auction Handler (Smart Contract)
2. Fastlane Sidecar (Validator helper software)
No new trust.
No private relays.
No centralized builder.
No special RPCs.
Everything happens onchain and openly.
---
The core idea (very important) is to eliminate the increasingly & incessant manipulation of the network by bots, who apparently cheat the system. So basically instead of bots guessing and spamming the network searchers can now openly bid for MEV opportunities, and validators pick the highest bidder.
If you say you’ll pay, you must pay, or your transaction fails.
TECH TALK
Part 1:
MEV Auction Handler (Smart Contract)
Think of this as an automated referee.
What searchers do on chain:
– They send their transaction to this contract
They say:
–“If I make profit, I’ll pay ×$”
What the contract does during execution:
1. Checks the bid
2. Makes sure the searcher actually paid
3. Split the money:
• Validator gets a share
•
$shMON holders get a share
• Fastlane gets a share
4. If payment fails → transaction reverts
5. Next bidder gets a chance
✅ No trust
✅ No cheating
✅ No manual enforcement
Tldr;
MEV is the extra profit created when transaction order on a blockchain can be manipulated.
Fastlane exists because MEV doesn’t disappear, it only moves — so the real question is who captures it ?
Instead of letting hidden bots extract MEV from users, Fastlane turns MEV into an open, competitive system.
Fastlane allows professional searchers to compete transparently to provide the best execution for trades.
This competition pushes MEV value away from exploitative front-running and toward better prices for users.
Validators earn more without harming users, traders get fairer execution, and the network stays stable.
Fastlane doesn’t eliminate MEV - it redirects it from private profit into shared network value.
Made this video explaining the new duo development by
@0xFastLane and
@category_xyz .
Hope you like it 😊 follow me if you do