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arXiv · 2405.00537

Quantifying Price Improvement in Order Flow Auctions

Brad Bachu·Xin Wan·Ciamac C. Moallemi
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Abstract

This work introduces a framework for evaluating onchain order flow auctions (OFAs), emphasizing the metric of price improvement. Utilizing a set of open-source tools, our methodology systematically attributes price improvements to specific modifiable inputs of the system such as routing efficiency, gas optimization, and priority fee settings. When applied to leading Ethereum-based trading interfaces such as 1Inch and Uniswap, the results reveal that auction-enhanced interfaces can provide statistically significant improvements in trading outcomes, averaging 4-5 basis points in our sample. We further identify the sources of such price improvements to be added liquidity for large swaps. This research lays a foundation for future innovations in blockchain based trading platforms.

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Brad Bachu, Xin Wan, Ciamac C. Moallemi. 2024-05-01. Quantifying Price Improvement in Order Flow Auctions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00537

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