Best-(Worst-)Case MEVil Response

In the realm of physics, the concept of heuristic value is pivotal for understanding and measuring clear definitions. A pertinent example can be found in the definition of Miner Extractable Value (MEV), which primarily involves miners making strategic choices between transactions that spend the same inputs or selectively withholding transactions from the public mempool for potential inclusion in their own blocks. This practice, known as MEVil within specific contexts, highlights a challenging aspect that cannot be efficiently managed by Bitcoin Core or similar open-source software without resorting to additional resources. These resources could range from more sophisticated computing power to specialized human expertise, including financial engineers and devops personnel. The delineation of what constitutes MEVil depends on the extra capital and operational expenses incurred by miners, which remain manageable for smaller operations but become significant for larger setups.

The discussion extends into the operational dynamics of large mining operations, possibly necessitating the employment of skilled devops personnel at a fraction of their operational costs, thereby underlining the importance of such expertise at either an individual mining operator level or within mining pools. Moreover, the narrative explores specific instances like large OP_RETURN transactions and drivechains that could potentially fall within the MEVil category, depending on the necessity for software that makes economically optimal decisions based on the processing of each individual drivechain.

Furthermore, the complexity of running additional nodes, as exemplified by Bitcoin miners who are also STX miners, introduces operational challenges and risks associated with denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and theft, emphasizing the need for devops expertise. The withholding aspect of MEV, involving selective transaction inclusion, is identified as particularly intricate, requiring a coordination mechanism possibly through a reputation-based marketplace.

Lastly, the discourse touches upon the potential implications of advanced covenant opcodes like OP_CCV, pondering whether they necessitate significant extra resources beyond current capabilities. This speculation invites further exploration of concrete examples to understand the extent to which these could be considered MEVil, cautioning against overly fatalistic reasoning in dismissing or acknowledging potential unknown systems.