Research: An increasing number of experienced Ethereum users are choosing to conduct private transactions on the blockchain

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, based on the latest research from Blocknative, an increasing number of experienced Ethereum users are choosing to conduct private transactions on the blockchain—relying on so-called dark pools to avoid trading bots set up for front-running, but this may obscure the openness and transparency that should characterize a decentralized public network.

Private transactions are sent directly to validators or block proposers, rather than the public mempool. In terms of total gas usage, private transactions now account for about half of the total on Ethereum, reflecting the computational power required to process transactions. In September 2022, when Ethereum transitioned to a PoS proof network, this proportion was about 7%, but it began to surge this year, remaining around 15% since the beginning of 2024.

Blocknative wrote in a blog post discussing this finding that the result of this trend is that "private transaction order flow is accessible only to permissioned network participants," and if a few seasoned participants gain more rewards, this could become a centralizing force. Blocknative CEO Matt Cutler stated in an interview, "Only a few participants can see private flow. Some people can see things, while others cannot, which creates opportunities and advantages."

For professionals who have previously observed such statistics, these figures may seem somewhat strange. A more typical way to measure the prevalence of private activity is by transaction volume, which is currently about 30%. Just in 2022, this proportion was close to 4.5%. However, Blocknative indicates that private transactions tend to be more complex, thus requiring more "gas." Blocknative wrote in the post, "By shifting the focus to the amount of gas used by private transactions, we can gain a more accurate understanding of network dynamics."