I’m noticing that on-chain trades are increasingly like lining up to buy bubble tea—clearly I ordered first, but somehow someone “cut in line” and took it first… MEV, put simply, is this: whoever can shove a transaction further forward gets to take a bigger bite. It doesn’t just affect people like me, small retail traders—market makers’ slippage gets stripped, and arbitrageurs get hit with anti-arbitrage. In the end, everyone is forced to crank up their slippage tolerance, and the experience gets worse.

A couple of days ago, when that cross-chain bridge incident happened again, I became even less willing to rush; and with oracles occasionally acting up, it also feels very real that everyone piles into “waiting for confirmation.” Slowing down means at least you don’t become cannon fodder. Anyway, now I’m willing to take one extra step: I’d rather wait two or three more blocks, or even pay a bit more gas to go through private relays / protection modes. It’s a hassle, but it’s worth it if it means getting hit by one less “slice of the knife”… Before bed, as always, I reduce my position—otherwise, I really won’t be able to sleep.