Flashbots, a provider of software used to package Ethereum blockchain transactions, raised $60 million to help finance the development of a new version of the technology.
The San Francisco-based firm Paradigm led the series B round, a shift from the recent trend among Silicon Valley venture capitalists pivoting to artificial intelligence companies from crypto. The financing was raised through a so-called “beauty contest for decentralization” in which investors were selected based on their reverse pitches, according to a statement Tuesday from Cayman Islands-based Flashbots. The funding gives it a valuation of of at least $1 billion, a representative of Flashbots said.
Flashbots builds software to help reduce the negative impact of MEV, or “maximal extractable value.” MEV is the profit blockchain operators make beyond the basic fees paid by users. It can be “extracted” through a number of techniques like front-running transactions, where fees are paid to move ahead of others. The updated technology is called SUAVE, or single unifying auction for value expression. Flashbots aims to mitigate potential risks of MEV by enabling a more transparent and decentralized approach for MEV-related opportunities.
SUAVE will also enable similar MEV-extracting functions to blockchains outside Ethereum, according to Flashbots. The Block first reported the funding.
