Why Only 3 Builders Control All of Ethereum
From Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies by Epicenter Media Ltd.
May 1, 2026 · 59 min · Episode 641
About this episode
The episode explores the dominance of three builders in Ethereum block construction and the implications for transaction processing and future upgrades.
In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by Kubi Mensah, CEO and co-founder of Gattaca, the company behind Titan Builder. Kubi sheds light on the highly competitive and often opaque world of Ethereum block building, explaining how Gattaca evolved from a centralized exchange proprietary trading firm to one of the three dominant builders responsible for constructing the vast majority of Ethereum blocks today . They dissect the true "journey of a transaction," revealing why over half of all Ethereum transaction value bypasses the public mempool in favor of private order flow auctions and MEV-protection services . Kubi explains the intricate mechanics of top-of-block bidding by high-frequency DeFi arbitrageurs, the necessity of extreme latency optimization, and the "flywheel effect" that makes block building a natural oligopoly . Finally, the discussion turns to the future of the Ethereum roadmap, unpacking how upcoming upgrades like ePBS (enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation) and FOCIL (Fork-Choice Enforced Inclusion Lists) aim to permanently alter the power dynamics between block builders, validators, and originators . Topics 04:15 Transitioning from…
People in this episode
Host: Friederike Ernst
Guest: Kubi Mensah
Topics covered
- Ethereum block building
- transaction mechanics
- private order flow auctions
- high-frequency trading
- block building oligopoly
- Ethereum roadmap
Keywords
- Ethereum
- block building
- transaction value
- mempool
- arbitrage
- latency optimization
- ePBS
- FOCIL
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gattaca, Ethereum, DeFi
Products: Titan Builder
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