Rebar Labs plans to launch a Bitcoin MEV protection platform, Shield, to safeguard traders from risks like front-running.
Rebar Labs has revealed plans to launch a platform by the end of 2024 to shield Bitcoin traders from harmful Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) strategies, such as front-running. As Bitcoin’s decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and layer-2 (L2) solutions grow, new risks have emerged for traders. These risks, primarily linked to MEV, could harm traders and disrupt the market. Rebar’s upcoming platform, Shield, seeks to tackle this issue head-on, offering traders protection from such strategies.
Luce, the CEO of Rebar Labs, also pointed out that front-running is an example of MEV on Bitcoin. He said further, “It’s happening fairly often,” meaning it is something that happens quite regularly. Rebar’s Shield is designed to be Bitcoin’s counterpart to Ethereum’s Flashboys. The Dune Analytics data shows that Flashbots has saved more than $43 billion worth of transactions from MEV.
Bitcoin Layer-2 Ecosystem Reaches $2B in Total Value Locked
Shield will not only allow traders to avoid dangerous MEV but also connect the fragmented Bitcoin DEX space. Currently, liquidity is distributed and fragmented across Bitcoin’s DEXs hence integration remains challenging. Luce explained that this is why “good MEV” can be useful toward price stabilization and execution in such a fragmented market as this.
Furthermore, by enhancing transaction throughput, the platform will help Bitcoin miners get even more from their investments. Rebar Labs is still negotiating with the leading miners so that Shield is well backed by Bitcoin hashing power.
From being just a payment protocol, Bitcoin’s blockchain has evolved since its creation. New features were introduced in the 2021 Taproot upgrade, including those for DeFi, tokens, and NFTs. However, Bitcoin-native DeFi is still relatively embryonic, and daily volumes are still below a few million dollars, primarily from crypto-savvy traders. Luce has it right, “Today, the daily volume is in the millions, maximum,” which means that the space is still in its ‘beta’ mode.
Despite the ongoing development of Bitcoin’s DeFi, Layer-2 solutions, including Babylon, Core Chain, and Stacks, are gaining traction. Currently, Bitcoin Layer-2 has approximately $2 billion in total value locked in based on the DefiLlama data. Luce warned that, unless Bitcoin performs better, many traders may shift to L2 solutions in the next year. He emphasized that Bitcoin still remains a great market play and that such opportunities should not be overlooked.
