Multicoin Capital, a crypto-focused investment firm, has led a $2.3 million seed funding round for FastLane Labs, a maximal extractable value (MEV) protocol for Polygon. This marks the third time Multicoin has backed infrastructure for MEV, a controversial way for validators to earn more money while ordering transactions on a blockchain.

FastLane Labs provides an auction system that allows validators to earn rewards without spamming the blockchain. The auctions happen off-chain and externally to minimize redundant transactions on the network. Other participants in the round included Polygon Ventures, Shima Capital, Delphi Ventures, and Everstake Ventures.

MEV allows validators to profit from the order in which pending blockchain transactions are arranged before becoming a block. FastLane Labs offers an alternative to spamming by providing an auction system for validators to earn rewards. This approach stands out from other Polygon MEV protocols by allowing validators to use their current Polygon clients to participate. Multicoin Capital made its first MEV-related investment in Sept. 2021 and has since backed two other projects focusing on MEV infrastructure.