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MEV Is Broken on Ethereum — Can Encrypted Mempools Fix It? w/ Luis Bezzenberger

The Blockchain Socialist

The Blockchain Socialist
MEV Is Broken on Ethereum — Can Encrypted Mempools Fix It? w/ Luis Bezzenberger
Apr 14, 2026
The Blockchain Socialist

I spoke to Luis Bezzenberger of Brainbot and core contributor to Shutter Network, about MEV and threshold encryption for encrypted mempools.

Luis comes from a background in distributed systems and has spent years thinking about how cryptography can level the playing field between ordinary users and sophisticated actors who exploit the transparency of public mempools. We dig into how threshold encryption works, why encrypted mempools like what Shutter Network is building, could protect users from front-running without sacrificing decentralization, and what it actually takes to get something like this shipped at the protocol level. We also get into the broader architecture puzzle — encrypted mempools PBS, FOCIL, and why Luis thinks these three pieces together form the holy trinity for censorship resistance on Ethereum.

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ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.

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