A month after the Merge, 51% Ethereum blocks were compliant with OFAC standards, according data from blockchain development Labrys. MEVBoost relays now take over market share.
Users on Twitter highlighted the fact that these figures are a significant step towards censorship as more blocks are being monitored:
Another sad milestone in censorship has been reached: 51%
This would mean that if the censoring validateators stopped attesting to noncensoring blocks, they would eventually form the canonical 100% censoring chain. pic.twitter.com/JrYUjowLpt— Martin Koppelmann (@koeppelmann)
October 14, 2022
OFAC stands to represent the Office of Foreign Assets Control. This is the US entity responsible for enforcing economic sanctions. MEV-Boost relays, meanwhile, are centralized entities acting as trusted mediators between block builders and block producers. All Ethereum proof-of–stake (PoS), validators, can outsource their block construction to other builders.
This metric shows how many blocks have been built since the Merge by OFAC-compliant MEVBoost relays. MEV-Boost was able to provide a more representative distribution for block proposers than a small number of miners who are proof-of-work (PoW) after Ethereum upgraded to a PoS consensus.
As mev boost (block-outsourcing) gains market share, Ethereum blocks increased from 9% to 51% OFAC compliance in the last month. https://t.co/SYiVHPlTf4
— Lyn Alden (@LynAldenContact)
October 14, 2022
In September, Labrys CEO Lachan Feeney stated that hard censorship would mean that no matter how long or how expensive you pay, sanctioned transactions will never be included in the blockchain.
In a strict censorship scenario, “nodes” would be required by regulation to discard all blocks that have any of these transactions.
He also pointed out that, even with soft censorship when approved transactions are eventually validated, it would likely lead to long waits, high-priority charges, and a substandard user experience.
Labrys’ webpage states that there are seven major MEV-oost relays currently in operation. These include BloXroute Max Profit and BloXroute Ethical. BloXroute Regulated, BloXroute BlockNative, Manifold, Eden, BloXroute Regulated, BloXroute Regulated. Of the seven major relays available, only three do not censor in accordance with OFAC compliance requirements. The company stated that OFAC-compliant relays won’t include transactions that interact with Tornado Cash smart contracts or other sanctioned wallet addresses, as defined by OFAC.”
