Lido Drafts Two-Lane MEV Rules Ahead of Ethereum's ePBS Switch

Lido's Node Operator Mechanism working group has floated a two-channel system for how its validators take bids, a preemptive move before Ethereum's ePBS change reshapes who talks to whom. One lane covers bids the protocol itself guarantees; the other covers extra payments layered on top. The split matters because it decides which builders get open access and which ones need a nod from Lido.

Under the proposal, every Lido validator keeps taking peer-to-peer bids, with all rewards flowing into the Lido EL Rewards Vault. Out in the open market, validators could accept offers from any builder that clears Ethereum's protocol requirements, as long as the protocol stands behind the payment. Builders and intermediaries that want to pay beyond that guarantee would have to join Lido's Allowed List, which the Curated Module Committee would review. The proposal doesn't lay out a separate approval step for those arrangements.

The draft also spells out what gets a node operator flagged for investigation. Building your own block while an outside bid sits above the minimum bid is one trigger. Another is picking a bid that falls below a monitoring threshold set at 90% to 95% of the highest eligible bid anyone saw. That's a tight leash on operators who might otherwise leave money on the table.

Scope-wise, the rules would bind all Lido node operators and zero in on block construction and builder bids. That's a different layer from MEV tooling that routes individual user transactions. The proposal isn't trying to touch how transactions get ordered on the way in; it's about how blocks get assembled and whose bids get taken.

Timing hinges on Ethereum. The planned ePBS change pulls proposer-builder coordination into the protocol itself as part of the Glamsterdam upgrade. Lido's policy would only kick in once that upgrade is live on Ethereum mainnet. Until then, it's a plan sitting on the shelf.

The proposal and its transition plan head to a vote in November, according to tokenpost.com. If it passes, Lido's validators would be operating under a set of MEV rules written for a post-ePBS world before that world arrives.