Mainz, Germany, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shutter Network, a leading innovator in decentralized privacy solutions, has announced a proposal to implement a threshold-encrypted mempool on BNB Chain to eliminate front-running, sandwich attacks, and other forms of malicious MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) activity, that have cost users over $1bn over the last 5 years.
The proposal—submitted as a BNB Chain Evolution Proposal (BEP)—comes amid rising concern over MEV on BNB Chain, where sandwich attacks and other front-running tactics have become increasingly prevalent. Late last year, over $1.5bn in DEX trades were impacted in a single day, and more recently, Binance founder CZ called for industry-wide solutions after falling victim to a sandwich attack himself. Shutter’s solution, if accepted, will contribute to BNB Chain’s Good Will Alliance, a new coalition of builders, dApps, and validators, all committed to reducing malicious MEV on the BNB ecosystem.
“We applaud the efforts of the Good Will Alliance and the validators’ commitment to ending malicious MEV on BNB Chain. Most current MEV solutions only address the issue at the surface level. They also introduce centralization and involve heavily manual processes, such as white/blacklisting users. While these may offer short-term relief, they’re difficult to sustain over the long term” comments Luis Bezzenberger, Head of Product at brainbot, a core contributor to Shutter Network.
“If validators want to show true goodwill to the BNB Chain community, the single most impactful step they can take is to commit to processing encrypted transactions by implementing an encrypted mempool using (distributed) threshold encryption.”
The encrypted mempool would provide several critical benefits for BNB Chain:
- Complete protection from front-running and sandwich attacks – By encrypting transactions until ordering is finalized
- Enhanced censorship resistance – Reducing opportunities for transaction interference
- Fair transaction ordering – Ensuring finalized order before content is visible
- Opt-in compatibility – Supporting both encrypted and regular transactions
- Reduced centralization – The system employs a decentralized approach where no single party can decrypt or manipulate transactions.
Shutter’s proposed threshold-encrypted mempool is a proven model, having been live on Gnosis Chain since July 2024 and on a dedicated OPstack testnet since March 2024. When users submit transactions, they’re encrypted before entering the mempool–making their contents invisible to front-running bots, validators, and builders. Transactions are only decrypted after block finalization and transaction order is locked in, eliminating the visibility that MEV exploiters depend on. Following successful integrations, Shutter has also put together a whitepaper for implementing this method onto the Ethereum mainnet.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has highlighted encrypted mempools as essential to addressing transaction ordering issues, naming threshold encryption and VDF-based delay encryption as the leading approaches.
The proposal was submitted as a BNB Chain Evolution Proposal (BEP) for BNB Chain community consideration.
Shutter Network invites all BNB Chain stakeholders: developers, validators, dApp creators, and users, to join the discussion, provide feedback, and help refine this solution.
For more details on the proposal and to participate in the discussion:
ENDS
About Shutter Network
Shutter Network is an open-source threshold encryption protocol initially developed by brainbot GmbH that brings fairness and information symmetry to blockchain systems. Through advanced cryptographic methods, the protocol prevents transaction manipulation, protects against malicious MEV and ensures credibly neutral transaction processing. At its core, Shutter Network represents a fundamental shift in how blockchain systems handle information fairness and user protection.
About brainbot GmbH
brainbot GmbH, headquartered in Mainz, Germany, specializes in the development, distribution, licensing and operation of open-source blockchain software. As a software development firm, brainbot focuses on advancing fair and secure decentralized technology through various client initiatives and core protocol development. Since March 2021, brainbot has served as the core development team behind the Shutter protocol, leading technical development and innovation. The company maintains a clear position as a service provider and technical contributor, based on grants received from Shutter DAO 0x36 to fund ongoing development work. This relationship allows brainbot to focus on technical excellence while maintaining appropriate distance from token economics and governance decisions.
