MEV Is Coming to the Agent Marketplace

Short summary

The author draws a precise analogy between crypto's MEV (maximal extractable value) problem and emerging AI agent marketplaces. MEV appears whenever three conditions hold: shared environment, observable pending intentions, and a party controlling execution order. Agent marketplaces are rebuilding all three conditions, meaning front-running extraction will emerge regardless of agent alignment—because the value leaks from order control, not agent misconduct.

• •MEV extraction requires only observable intent and a sequencer—not misbehaving agents
• •AI agent marketplaces are recreating the same three conditions that enabled crypto front-running
• •Perfect agent alignment does not prevent extraction; marketplace architecture must address ordering and observability

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.