How it works

Base produces a new block approximately every 2 seconds, which we forward directly to the Coinbase Sequencer to avoid impacting inclusion times. With Flashblocks, confirmations occur approximately every 200ms.

When a transaction is sent via Blink, we share it with our trusted searcher network. Searchers may submit backrun transactions to capture arbitrage opportunities. For transactions that successfully land on-chain and are backrun, Blink may return a portion of that value to the transaction originator.

Transactions that revert, fail, or are not included on-chain are not eligible for refunds or value sharing.

Flow Overview

1. Transaction Submission

   • Users submit transactions through Blink interface

   • Transactions are immediately processed for searcher distribution

2. Searcher Integration

   • Vetted searchers receive transaction details

   • Searchers analyze for profitable backrun opportunities

   • Execution happens within the same block when possible

3. Profit Distribution

   • Searchers capture arbitrage value through backrun transactions

   • Automated profit-sharing mechanism returns value to original transaction senders

   • Transparent tracking ensures fair distribution

Differences with Ethereum

1. Cheaper gas = higher quantity of profitable Opportunities

Because it's cheaper to send transactions on Base, the point at which opportunities become profitable for searchers is lower. This means that much lower value transactions can provide value back.

2. No Builders

There are no builders on Base. The Coinbase run sequencer decides the ordering. As of December 2024, ordering is done by the Gas Price.

3. No Mempool

As Coinbase runs the sequencer, a public mempool is not necessary. This means there is no way for user's to be explicitly "sandwiched" by MEV bots like the notorious jaredfromsubway.

However, sandwich attacks still occur on Base. Please reach out to us if you're interested in more details.

4. No "Bundles"

There is no concept of "bundles" on Base. This means it's harder to attribute value recovered from the searcher.

Despite there being no bundles Blink has a number of innovative approaches to attribute recoveries for originator transactions that are successfully included on-chain and pass that back to the originator of the transaction.