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Becoming Immutable: How Ethereum is Made

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  • Andrea Canidio
  • Vabuk Pahari

Abstract

We collect and study 15,097 blocks proposed for inclusion in the Ethereum blockchain during 8 minutes on December 3rd, 2024, corresponding to 39 added blocks. These proposed blocks contain 10,793 unique transactions, and 2,380,014 transaction-block pairings, our primary unit of analysis. We find that 20% of user transactions are delayed: although proposed during a bidding cycle, they are not included in the corresponding winning block. Approximately 30% of such delayed transactions are exclusive to a losing builder. We also identify two arbitrage bots trading between decentralized (DEX) and centralized exchanges (CEX), which are responsible for a significant fraction of the value of proposed blocks. By examining their bidding dynamics, we estimate that the implied price at which these bots trade USDC/WETH and USDT/WETH on CEXes is approximately 2.8 basis points better than the contemporaneous Binance price.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Canidio & Vabuk Pahari, 2025. "Becoming Immutable: How Ethereum is Made," Papers 2506.04940, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2506.04940
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Janicot & Alex Vinyas, 2025. "Private MEV Protection RPCs: Benchmark Stud," Papers 2505.19708, arXiv.org.
    2. Maryam Bahrani & Pranav Garimidi & Tim Roughgarden, 2024. "Centralization in Block Building and Proposer-Builder Separation," Papers 2401.12120, arXiv.org.
    3. John, Kose & Monnot, Barnabé & Mueller, Peter & Saleh, Fahad & Schwarz-Schilling, Caspar, 2025. "Economics of Ethereum," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Robin Fritsch & Andrea Canidio, 2024. "Measuring Arbitrage Losses and Profitability of AMM Liquidity," Papers 2404.05803, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2024.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vabuk Pahari & Andrea Canidio, 2025. "How Exclusive are Ethereum Transactions? Evidence from non-winning blocks," Papers 2509.16052, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    2. Fei Wu & Danning Sui & Thomas Thiery & Mallesh Pai, 2025. "Measuring CEX-DEX Extracted Value and Searcher Profitability: The Darkest of the MEV Dark Forest," Papers 2507.13023, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2025.

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