Fractalization of Block Building Fireside Chat
[Pragma Istanbul at Devconnect 2023]
What happens when the MEV supply chain starts to break apart? In this insightful panel from Pragma Istanbul 2023, industry leaders dive into the evolving architecture of Ethereum’s transaction pipeline. Kubi Mensah (Titan Builder/Gattaca), Tarun Chitra (Gauntlet), Anna George (CoW Protocol), Wee Howe Ang (Tokka Labs), and Tina Zhen (Flashbots) unpack the future of block building, solver strategy, Searcher competition, and the rise of intent-based systems.
The discussion explores whether intents are just glorified limit orders, how solvers differ from Searchers, the implications of builder verticalization, and whether block building itself will remain viable as solvers get smarter. Panelists reflect on the disaggregation trend post-PBS, what incentives are shifting as rollups and L2s mature, and how application-specific use cases are rewriting the rules of MEV extraction and mitigation. With opinions on decentralization, user experience, fair ordering, and technical bottlenecks, this is essential viewing for anyone working at the intersection of Ethereum infrastructure, MEV, and application-layer design.