What Is the Potential Impact of “Maximal Extractable Value” (MEV) on Transaction Ordering?

Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) is the profit a miner (or validator) can make by arbitrarily including, excluding, or reordering transactions within a block. MEV can significantly impact transaction ordering by incentivizing miners to deviate from a simple fee-per-byte prioritization.

For example, a miner might reorder transactions to profit from arbitrage opportunities or liquidations. This practice can lead to front-running, where a miner places their own profitable transaction just before a large user transaction, affecting the user's execution price.