# What is MEV? Front-running, sandwiches, and how a floor protects you

> Canonical: https://blazephoenix.xyz/learn/what-is-mev
> License: CC BY 4.0 (attribution + link) · © 2026 BlazePhoenix
> Updated: 2026-08-05



MEV, short for maximal extractable value, is the profit a block producer or bot can capture by choosing the order of transactions in a block. The most common form retail traders meet is the sandwich: a bot sees your pending swap, buys ahead of you to push the price, lets your trade fill worse, then sells. You still get tokens, just fewer than the pool would have given a moment earlier.

## Why a hard floor limits the damage

You cannot stop others from ordering blocks, but you can bound your worst case. BlazePhoenix computes the quote on-chain and enforces a minimum-output floor: every route leg must deliver at least a set fraction of the plan or the whole swap reverts and you keep your tokens. A sandwich can only move your fill inside that band, never below it. Setting a tighter slippage narrows the band further.

**Verify it yourself:** Open any BlazePhoenix swap tx on basescan.org and confirm the received amount is at least the minOut encoded in the call — the floor is enforced by the contract, not by trust

Related: https://blazephoenix.xyz/learn/sandwich-attack-explained · https://blazephoenix.xyz/learn/iron-floor · https://blazephoenix.xyz/learn/what-is-slippage