API3 Launches OEV Network to Recapture MEV for Lending Protocols

API3 has announced the launch of the OEV Network as an integral part of the API3 Oracle Stack, enabling protocols using API3’s data feeds to recapture value lost due to protocol MEV. The OEV Network enhances the API3 Oracle Stack on all 37 networks that it is available on, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of oracle infrastructure for securing DeFi protocols.

OEV Network is a Layer 2 solution powered by Arbitrum Orbit that creates an efficient market around oracle updates, allowing searchers to bid for valuable oracle updates like in the case of liquidations on lending protocols. The proceeds from these oracle update auctions are then programmatically returned back to the protocol that generated the value allowing for the potential recapturing of millions of dollars a year. 

So far this year, Aave V3 has already paid out $23.4 million to searchers across all chains. Similarly, Venus has paid out $5.8 million this year. Lending protocols like Aave and Venus pay in the millions each year in liquidation bonuses to third party agents like searchers to maintain the health of their protocol. With API3’s OEV Network, this paradigm is set to shift towards lending protocol being paid instead for liquidation opportunities. 

“Lending protocols manage the risk of their loans by incentivizing searchers with liquidation bonuses for timely liquidations. Data shows that they are severely overpaying for this service, especially for the larger positions that are being liquidated,” said Ugur Mersinlioglu, API3 Strategy Lead. “Interestingly enough, the searchers performing the liquidations aren’t the main benefactors of these incentives. Liquidations are an easy strategy to perform and as such the competition for them is quite aggressive. Currently, this competition takes place on the blockspace level, where searchers outbid each other to get their transaction included first, resulting in them giving up 99% of the available incentive to block builders. With OEV Network, we are changing where this competition takes place. Instead of competing in blockspace auctions to get your transaction included first, searchers will compete for the right to perform oracle updates that allow for liquidations, with the proceeds of these auctions being programmatically returned to dApps. With liquidation incentives ranging between 5-20%, utilizing API3’s Oracle Stack will allow dApps to recapture multi-million dollar opportunities.”

An Onchain MEV Solution for Every Lending Protocol 

Order-flow auctions have proven to be one of the solutions to minimizing the negative impacts of MEV. Currently, most order-flow auctions rely on off-chain solutions, which despite their sophistication in handling complex computations, often introduce centralization vectors. This necessitates reliance on trusted off-chain parties or intermediaries, like relays, which raises concerns about security, transparency, and accountability in the auction process.

The OEV Network addresses these design challenges by providing an onchain execution environment to streamline the operational aspects of the auction, like searcher bidding and payments. By using Arbitrum Orbit to power the OEV Network, API3 is able to control the auction execution environment to offer searchers a cheap, fast, and secure bidding process for oracle updates. This shift to using an onchain framework marks a significant step towards creating MEV solutions that are more transparent and accountable, safeguarding the integrity of the auction process. 

“We're excited to welcome API3 to the Arbitrum ecosystem. Their groundbreaking solution, the OEV Network, addresses a critical issue affecting the Web3 ecosystem,” said Laura Woods, a spokesperson for Arbitrum Foundation. “The OEV Network has the potential to unlock new opportunities for builders across the ecosystem, as well as allow dApps to recapture value."

API3 also partnered with Caldera to build and operate the OEV Network. Caldera, as a leading Rollup-as-a-Service provider, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the OEV Network is well-positioned to become the go-to solution for recapturing protocol MEV related to oracle updates. 

Lending Protocols Will Never Be the Same

API3 built the OEV Network as a vertically integrated MEV solution, operating seamlessly on all data feeds on the API3 Market. By leveraging the security of a Layer 2 network to create an efficient market for oracle updates, it not only improves the granularity of the data feeds when it matters most, but also enables protocols to potentially recapture millions of dollars each year.  

OEV Network was built to scale with the rollup-centric future of onchain finance. By being integrated with all of API3’s data feeds on the API3 Market, lending protocols will have an oracle solution that does more than simply provide data. By utilizing API3 as an oracle, they will be utilizing an oracle that pays them.

This newfound revenue has the potential to revolutionize lending protocols as they can utilize this reclaimed value to innovate in various ways–from being distributed to stakers, reducing fees, or simply directing it towards their treasury. 

As we step into a new era of onchain finance, the OEV Network introduces a seismic shift in the oracle landscape by enabling secure, efficient, and equitable oracle solutions.