What Role Does Transaction Ordering Play in Enabling Front-Running on a Blockchain?

Transaction ordering is crucial because the final state of the blockchain (and thus the asset price) is determined by the sequence in which transactions are processed within a block. Front-running exploits this by submitting a transaction with a higher gas fee, incentivizing the validator/miner to include the front-runner's transaction before the target transaction, thereby securing a favorable price.

In many public blockchains, the miner or validator has discretion over the ordering, allowing them to extract value (MEV) by prioritizing profitable trades.