Industry Leaders Propose Ethereum’s First Threshold-Encrypted Mempool

A consortium of leading blockchain infrastructure providers led by the open-source protocol Shutter Network has revealed what they say is the first practical implementation framework for an encrypted mempool on Ethereum.

Shutter Network has collaborated with several major blockchain infrastructure providers, including Chainbound, MEV Blocker, Gnosis, and Nethermind.

The five teams have jointly announced “a practical roadmap” for providing privacy and fairness to the Ethereum blockchain via an encrypted mempool.

According to the press release shared with Cryptonews, this roadmap would lead to the automatic protection of every Ethereum user against exploitative trading practices that have been plaguing the industry.

The proposal outlines three phases for bringing encrypted mempool to Ethereum. The first is integrating with existing infrastructure to make encrypted transactions available to users. Next is increasing protections via improved block-building processes, and then finally comes the full integration into Ethereum’s core protocol.

“This represents the first viable solution for transaction privacy at the protocol level,” the email to Cryptonews said. It directly addresses “Vitalik Buterin’s recent call for this technology as “crucial” for Ethereum’s future.”

Source: Press Release, Shutter Network

The consortium claims that their proposal would create a future where exploitations such as front-running, sandwich attacks, and real-time censorship are “technically impossible” to execute.

Therefore, the proposal and the encrypted mempool would alter transaction processing to ensure fairness, verifiability, and decentralization.

“The vision extends beyond just preventing exploitation,” the press release said. “It lays the groundwork for ‘Fully Private Ethereum,’ where advanced cryptographic techniques would enable complete transaction privacy whilst maintaining full verifiability. This represents a significant step toward achieving Ethereum’s original promise of a truly neutral, censorship-resistant financial system.”

This is a result of collaboration between Shutter, @chainbound_ (@boltprotocol_), @NethermindEth, MEV Blocker (@CoWSwap), and @GnosisDAO. Together, we propose a solution that incorporates encryption into Ethereum's tx flow while preserving composability and efficiency.

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— Shutter 🛡️⚔️ (@ShutterNetwork) February 11, 2025 You might also like Shutter Launches Anti-Front Running Solution on Gnosis to Fight $900M Crypto Theft

Technology of Encrypted ‘Envelopes’

Maximal extractible value (MEV) has been a major pain point on Ethereum. It has affected large and small users, as specialized bots and validators exploit the information they gather from the pending transactions for profit.

Over $1.8 billion has been extracted through MEV on Ethereum since 2020, the announcement highlights.

However, the proposed encrypted mempool would keep transactions private until they are ready to be processed. This means that nobody would be able to see the transaction details.

Shutter Network likens this tech to “a secure and decentralized envelope system.” Users seal their transactions in encrypted ‘envelopes.’ These can be opened only through the cooperation of a distributed group of ‘Keypers’ using threshold encryption when the transactions are ready to be processed.

Source: Press Release, Shutter Network

According to Heiko Franßen, CEO at brainbot, a core contributor to Shutter Network, this proposal is a long-term approach. “Instead of transactions being visible to everyone before they’re processed, which allows for exploitation, we’re creating a system where they stay private until the right moment. This levels the playing field for everyone using the network.”

Luis Bezzenberger, Head of Product at brainbot, argued that previous attempts at solving MEV attacks relied heavily on centralized solutions. This is a problem as it creates additional risks.

But this new approach, he said, “distributes trust across multiple parties and integrates directly with existing systems, making it much more practical to implement whilst maintaining strong security guarantees.”

Every day, traders lose millions to predators—bots that manipulate transactions, extract value, and tilt the playing field.

Censorship is creeping in, and fair access is slipping away. This isn’t what crypto was supposed to be.

But there’s a choice. Two paths lie ahead.

11 Feb pic.twitter.com/RrwwGEzjB4

— Shutter 🛡️⚔️ (@ShutterNetwork) February 6, 2025 You might also like MEV Sandwich Bot ‘arsc’ Profits $30 Million from Solana Users in Two Months

Source: cryptonews.com