Recently, I’ve been hearing everyone talk about block builders and bundles, so I’ve been catching up a little too—but the more I look, the more I want to sigh: Turns out, those few times when I clearly clicked confirm but someone still cut in line were, many times, not because my internet was bad; it’s more like I’m crossing a busy street in the middle of traffic and blaming the cars… But to be blunt, how much do retail investors really need to know to be enough? I think there are just two points: first, don’t treat the mempool like a private channel—your intentions will be seen; second, either accept the probability of getting sandwiched or having a front-run/snipe happen to you, or use more “private” ways to submit orders (don’t dig into the underlying principles—at least just know that this exists).

What I’m most afraid of isn’t losing money; it’s losing money and then thinking it’s because I’m clumsy—when in fact the mechanism is “educating” me. During the airdrop season, all those tasks on task platforms, anti-witch-hunting, and point systems make it feel like working a job where you’re constantly competing and grinding—I already have a bit of PTSD… Anyway, before I place an order now, I’ll take another look at the slippage and the transaction path; I’d rather go slower—for now, that’s it.