What Role Does Transaction Transparency in the Mempool Play in Enabling Front-Running?
The mempool is a public waiting area for unconfirmed transactions. Its transparency allows malicious "searcher" bots to monitor all pending transactions and identify large, profitable orders before they are executed.
By observing a large buy order, a bot can immediately submit its own buy order with a higher gas fee to jump ahead in the queue. This is the foundational mechanism that enables front-running and MEV exploitation in public blockchain systems like Ethereum.
Glossar
Transparency
Principle ⎊ Transparency in a public blockchain context means that all transactions, contract code, and network activity are openly recorded and auditable by any participant.
Transaction Transparency
Verification ⎊ Transaction Transparency refers to the public verifiability of all executed trades and state changes on a permissionless blockchain, providing an immutable audit trail for every financial interaction.