MEV protocol Eden Network shuts down operations, plans treasury distribution to token holders

Eden Network, a protocol that focuses on minimizing the negative externalities of maximum extractable value or MEV, announced Wednesday that it is officially winding down its services.

With the announcement, the network's core products, including Eden RPC, Eden Bundles, Mempool Stream and Tx Explain, became no longer operational.

Eden Network launched in 2021 to provide Ethereum miners with an extra revenue stream by optimizing Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) through transaction prioritization. 

After Ethereum's Merge in September 2022, it gained brief prominence as an MEV-Boost relay operator, supporting validators in the proof-of-stake system to enhance transaction efficiency and fairness in the DeFi ecosystem.

However, Eden said the relay and block building space quickly became a fiercely competitive and costly environment, ultimately making it profitable for only a handful of operators.

"Despite early momentum and success, Eden was unable to maintain its position in the more mature MEV landscape," Eden said. "After careful consideration and consultation with community members, a difficult decision has been made to retire Eden Network."

Token retirement

Eden said it will distribute its entire treasury of 2,000 ETH to EDEN token holders as part of a token retirement program. 

The distribution, only available to non-U.S. residents, is scheduled to last until Sept. 30, with a fixed distribution rate of 0.00001506 ETH per one EDEN token. 

"Only the current circulating supply of ~132,800,000 EDEN is eligible for the retirement program," the announcement noted. "All tokens currently held in the treasury and all unvested core contributor tokens have been burned."