Inception blog > Ecosystem > Behind the Stake #5: Securing Ethereum’s Next Block with MEV-Commit

Behind the Stake #5: Securing Ethereum’s Next Block with MEV-Commit

May 08, 2025

What if you could commit to the next Ethereum block, before it even happens? That’s the promise of MEV Commit: a trust-minimized preconfirmation layer securing next-block inclusion with real cryptoeconomic weight behind it.

In this fifth episode of Behind the Stake, we take a closer look at how Inception helps secure MEV Commit, a protocol that overlays Ethereum’s Proposer/Builder Separation to deliver atomic MEV execution, slash misbehavior, and enable faster, more predictable DeFi experiences.

Because behind every flash of inclusion, there are staked assets keeping things honest.

TL;DR

MEV Commit locks in next-block transaction inclusion using staked collateral and cryptographic bids
Validators integrate seamlessly through Symbiotic or EigenLayer without altering MEV-Boost workflows
Slashing is live and enforced via an EVM-compatible settlement chain
Over $116M has been staked via 15 vaults, actively distributing points and rewards to delegators

Making Ethereum Fast, Securely

MEV Commit is built by Primev and designed for speed, but not at the cost of trust. Its architecture lets users and searchers bid off-chain for guaranteed inclusion in the next block. The winning bid becomes a cryptographic commitment and if a validator breaks it, their stake is on the line.

That’s where Inception comes in: through liquid staking, users delegate ETH, wstETH, or other assets into Symbiotic-based vaults that back the validators running this system. The result is a more secure, trustless foundation for block inclusion markets.

How mev-commit solves the fair exchange problem (Source)

With on-chain settlement, live slashing, and cross-chain support, MEV Commit is already live across Ethereum and rollups, all without touching the core protocol.

Operator and Curator Metrics

As of late April 2025:

$116.5M in total economic security staked
15 Symbiotic vaults curated by 6 entities
wstETH is the dominant collateral (77.6%), followed by LBTC (16.3%)

Collateral Max-Limits Utilization and Distribution (Source)

Stake participation among node operators is still developing:

10 of 28 eligible operators have received delegation (35.7%)
The top 3 operators control 61.4% of delegated capital
Top 5 together manage over 90%

Nº Vaults & Nº Collateral & Distribution per Operator (Source)

While early-stage stake concentration is not unusual, continued growth in operator diversity will be important for long-term network resilience.

On the curator side:

Just 3 curators handle 98% of all delegated assets
Vault cap distribution is uneven, with a Gini Index of 0.67 and the largest vault allowed to hold 1755× more than the smallest

Nº Vaults & Nº Collateral & Distribution per Curator (Source)

This imbalance creates friction for new stakers and limits stake distribution across curators, a point of optimization for MEV Commit moving forward.

Live Slashing and Points-Based Incentives

Unlike many early-stage shared security networks, MEV Commit has already activated slashing. Validators who break commitments are penalized directly via its sidechain, giving real teeth to its economic guarantees.

The protocol also actively distributes points to delegators, offering direct alignment between participation and upside. By liquid staking through Inception for inwstETHs, users can gain exposure to MEV Commit’s points program while maintaining composability across DeFi.

Combined with vault-level rewards, this makes MEV Commit one of the more advanced networks in terms of validator incentives and enforcement.

→ Explore Inception staking and start earning today.

The Role of Inception

Inception stakers provide the economic backbone for MEV Commit, without sacrificing DeFi composability. By staking into vaults, they receive a liquid token they can use across DeFi while their capital secures atomic MEV commitments.

This allows users to support low-latency block infrastructure, validator accountability, and protocol-level UX improvements all with a single action.

Explore the Data

Want to see which vaults are earning the most? Which validators hold the majority of staked capital? Or how MEV Commit’s security posture compares to other networks?

Visit Inception’s Restaking Explorer to get a transparent, live view into MEV Commit’s shared security profile, and discover which restaking flows power the protocols reshaping Ethereum’s blockspace.