Ethereum: Ordering Fees as a Share of Spot DEX Volume

About this Chart

Ordering Fees as a percentage of Spot DEX Volume measure the willingness of traders to pay for ordering specification or ordering priority, relative to the total spot market volume. These fees are paid by traders to secure their ability to capture arbitrage profits across DEX-DEX and CEX-DEX markets, and a smaller portion—generally estimated to be in the low-to-mid single digits—funds front-running and sandwiching attacks.

This metric also reflects the pricing power of block builders and blockspace, as higher fees indicate traders' willingness to pay significant premiums for prioritized execution within blocks. It captures the total cost paid by arbitrageurs to execute their strategies, providing insight into the economic barriers to entry for market participants and the efficiency of arbitrage activity on that chain. By framing these fees in terms of volume, the metric also helps contextualize the expected profitability of similar actors in less-developed ecosystems, where weaker MEV capture or lower ordering fees may signal greater arbitrage opportunities and potential for ecosystem growth.