Introducing the Priority-Fee Refund Program: Maximizing Returns with Exclusive Orderflow

By Eyal Markovich

We are excited to introduce bloXroute’s Priority-Fee Refund Program, designed to enhance your trading experience by improving transaction efficiency and providing refunds on priority fees. This program builds upon concepts discussed in the research paper, The Importance of Exclusive Orderflow to Builders. The paper highlights the value of exclusive orderflow for block builders, allowing them to retain a larger portion of MEV (Miner Extractable Value) with more exclusive orderflow.

How It Works

In the Priority-Fee Refund Program, bloXroute acts as middleware, allowing users to submit exclusive orderflow that will be delivered to a single, selected builder. We optimize the process by choosing the best builder in each slot, improving the chances of landing the orderflow in the next block. The primary goal of the program is transaction inclusion; a kickback (or refund) is secondary. In other words, we prioritize getting your transaction included in the next block, even if it doesn't qualify for a refund.

Key Benefits

This program allows transaction source partners—such as searchers, traders, wallets, and Telegram bots—to receive a portion of the priority fee (bribe) back without compromising the inclusion rate. Builders participating in the program bid on the percentage of the profit they make from the bundle's priority fee that they are willing to refund.

To maximize the refund, submit bundles exclusively to bloXroute and avoid sending them to other builders. If a bundle is sent to other builders, it will not qualify for a refund.

How to Submit Bundles

Users can submit bundles (orderflow) with a priority fee refund flag to bloXroute’s infrastructure. Most users submit their bundles via the Cloud API, while Enterprise Elite Plan users and above can submit through the gateway. Full instructions on how to submit for the Priority-Fee Refund Program can be found in our documentation.

Example submission:

curl https://mev.api.blxrbdn.com \

    --insecure \

    -X POST \

    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \

    -H "Authorization: <YOUR-AUTHORIZATION-HEADER>" \

    -d '{

         "id": "1", 

         "method": "blxr_submit_bundle", 

         "params": {

            "transaction": ["ab..ab", "cd..cd"],

            "block_number": "0xba10d0",

            "min_timestamp": 1616511391,

            "max_timestamp": 1617806320,

            "reverting_hashes": ["0xd8..ce", "0x50..d3"],

            "uuid": "05e33611-a415-425b-b9ca-ca0ef6773461",

            "priority_fee_refund": true,

            "refund_recipient": "0x000...111",

            "mev_builders": {

                "bloxroute": "",

                "flashbots": "<signature>",

                "beaverbuild": "",

                "all": ""

            }

          }

        }'

How bloXroute Optimizes Your Bundle

Once the bundle is submitted, bloXroute holds it for a few seconds before the next scheduled slot to assess which participating builder has the highest chance of winning the block. The bundle is then forwarded exclusively to that builder. If the selected builder’s chances decrease, bloXroute will send the bundle to all requested builders. If several builders have similar chances, bloXroute will send it to the one offering the highest priority fee refund.

Refund percentages for users typically range between 5% and 40%, based on recent data.

Example Scenarios

1. Builder A keeps the bundle exclusive: If Builder A consistently has a more profitable block than others, the bundle is sent exclusively to Builder A. Builder A refunds part of the priority fee.
2. Multiple builders receive the bundle: If another builder becomes more profitable, bloXroute forwards the bundle to all requested builders. No refund is available in this case.

Receiving Your Refund

Bundles that remain exclusive to a builder are eligible for a refund. Builders share a portion of their gas fees (priority fees) with the searcher who submitted the bundle. The amount refunded is based on the builder's block profit—meaning the more profit the builder retains, the larger the refund.

Refund payments appear on-chain within 1–2 hours after the bundle is included in a block. These payments are processed through Disperse.app (0xD152f549545093347A162Dce210e7293f1452150).

Refund Calculation

Refunds are calculated based on the following formula:

Refund = (orderflow value / total exclusive orderflow value) * block profit * builder action %

Example:

If a builder receives a bundle worth 1 ETH for a block with exclusive bundles totaling 2 ETH in bribes, and the builder retains 0.6 ETH in profit after paying validators, the builder’s refund offer might be 75%. The refund would then be:

(1/2) * 0.6 * 0.75 = 0.225 ETH.

This refund is then split between the user and bloXroute (66%/34%).

Connect with us

The Priority-Fee Refund Program offers a unique opportunity to maximize transaction efficiency while earning refunds on priority fees. By leveraging exclusive orderflow and working with top builders, you can optimize your trading outcomes. Stay tuned for more updates on this and other exciting developments by following us on X (@bloXroute) and visiting bloxroute.com.