What Is MEV
Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) is simply the additional revenue validators or searchers can extract through manipulating the transactions they order while constructing blocks by reordering transactions, including certain transactions at the expense of others, or excluding transactions entirely.
Solana has approached MEV in quite a different way from other blockchains like Ethereum as it does not have a public mempool which is visible to all and transactions are instead sent directly to validators that then continuously produce blocks. While searchers on Solana make money from things like DEX arbitrage, lending liquidation and frontrunning large transactions, just like on other blockchains, the magnitude is very large and generated around $7.5 billion of MEV in 2025 representing 40% of all blockspace on the network.
Jito's role in Solana's MEV Infrastructure
Jito Labs has essentially built Solana's entire MEV infrastructure. The platform enables searchers to bundle transactions which will either be executed exactly in the specified order or not at all.
Their Block Auction Mechanism also allows validators to participate in MEV and earn MEV rewards from priority fees for stakers rather than searchers, and the protocol ensures that non-profits are not exploited by searchers (like sandwich attacks), whereas profitable MEV searchers still have access to execute their MEV strategies with Jito. Validators that run Jito's custom Solana client can earn MEV rewards through tips, incentivizing validators to act honestly and securing the network.
Recently, Jito released enhanced protection for regular users from MEV attacks and better APIs for bundle creation and submission. Solana has successfully developed an MEV infrastructure that provides the benefits without the detrimental effects of MEV; other chains could learn from Solana's success as it has proven that MEV can be successfully implemented.
