Recently, people have asked me again: who exactly is harmed by on-chain front-running (MEV/ordering)? To put it simply, it’s like getting food in a cafeteria—someone quietly tells the chef, “I’m in a hurry,” and then walks off with the spoonful of meat from in front of you. You might think it’s only that you miss a bite, but actually, the expectations of the whole line behind you change: slippage grows larger, execution becomes more like guesswork, regular people start to hesitate to place orders, and eventually liquidity also shrinks.

What’s even more annoying is that this isn’t necessarily “bad guys making money.” Sometimes it’s just that the rules weren’t explained clearly: who can cut the line, where they can cut in, and who gets the fee for cutting. In governance, it’s very much like a voting game—when incentives are skewed, everyone learns to cut in line, and nobody wants to wait in line anymore.

By the way, I also saw people in the group guessing whether projects would migrate after the upgrades/maintenance of the major public chains… My first reaction wasn’t “where to,” but rather “how the new chain’s queue is arranged.” Anyway, I screenshot it first, so in a few days I can flip back and laugh at myself.