MEV Protection
All token swap operations in the Alvara Protocol are protected against MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks.
What is MEV?
MEV refers to the profit that can be extracted by reordering, inserting, or censoring transactions within a block. Common MEV attacks include:
Front-running: An attacker sees your pending swap and places their own transaction before yours, moving the price against you
Sandwich attacks: An attacker places transactions both before and after yours, profiting from the price movement they create
Back-running: An attacker places a transaction immediately after yours to capture arbitrage opportunities
These attacks can result in worse execution prices for your transactions.
How Alvara Protects You
Alvara uses a backend signing service to protect against MEV:
When you initiate a swap operation (deposit, redeem, rebalance, etc.), the transaction details are sent to the protocol's backend
The backend computes the optimal swap route
The backend signs the transaction data with a deadline
The signed transaction is submitted on-chain with MEV protection
This process happens automatically. You don't need to take any action or configure anything.
Protected Operations
The following operations involve token swaps and are MEV-protected:
BSKT creation
Initial ETH → token swaps
Deposits
ETH → basket token swaps
ETH redemptions
Basket tokens → ETH swaps
Rebalancing
Selling old tokens, buying new tokens
Fee claiming
Converting fee tokens to ETH
Emergency stable
Converting to stablecoins
Revert emergency
Converting stablecoins back to portfolio tokens
Note: Redeeming for underlying tokens (instead of ETH) does not involve swaps and therefore does not require MEV protection.
Deadlines
Every signed transaction includes a deadline. If the transaction isn't confirmed on-chain within the deadline window, it reverts. This prevents stale transactions from executing at outdated prices.
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