These days, I've been looking into the MEV "priority queuing" system, which basically means someone can decide who goes first and who goes last. The biggest impact isn't necessarily from large traders, but rather those small orders that swap tokens on-chain or add a little margin: you think you're executing at the seen price, but in reality, you're caught in a sandwich, with a tiny slippage. Over time, it’s like paying an invisible fee every time. Market makers and arbitrageurs do contribute liquidity, but when the order priority is controlled by a few people, it's hard to call it "fair."

And let's not forget the current trend of social mining and fan tokens, where "attention is mining." It sounds lively, but in the end, it’s about who can cut in line, buy traffic, or better control the rhythm... On-chain priority queuing is a technical matter, while off-chain priority is human nature. Anyway, I now always check the slippage and route before placing an order, splitting orders when possible, to avoid becoming that panic-stricken retail trader.