Ethereum’s Transaction Speed Problem? A New Solution Called TOOL Aims to Fix It Without Changing the Network
For traders and decentralized application developers seeking the speed of high-throughput blockchains or the user experience of centralized exchanges, Ethereum’s 12-second block time has long been a limiting factor. Now, a system called TOOL promises sub-second trade confirmations directly on Ethereum Mainnet without altering the underlying protocol.
Billing Itself as Middleware
Billed as a “middleware” solution, TOOL (Trustless Orderflow Operations Layer) slices each 12-second Ethereum block into 12 one-second mini-rounds, introducing sealed-bid auctions for transaction execution. According to its developers, this allows users to potentially confirm transactions immediately after the block finalized, effectively achieving near-instantaneous confirmation.
nuConstruct, the developer, emphasizes that TOOL extracts execution speed improvements directly from Ethereum’s existing structure without immutability or security trade-offs — attributes previously linked to Layer 2 scaling solutions like rollups or sidechains.
Enforcing Order Without Traditional Staking
Within TOOL’s system, transactions enter a private, sealed auction process once submitted via a connected RPC. Searchers compete to provide resources for including the trade. A one-second execution commitment is delivered to the user upon winning the micro-auction.
“We enforce transaction privacy and transaction processing rules with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).,” explained 0xprincess, a pseudonymous founder of nuConstruct. Users include arbitrageurs, decentralized exchange traders, and RPC providers who are naturally incentivized to support the network.
Intriguingly, TOOL doesn’t rely on staking or slashing mechanisms (like those used by EigenLayer or Symbiotic AVS) to manage participants or incentivize honest behavior. nuConstruct cites uncertainty around potentially quantifiable economic damage from attacks as a reason.
Security & Decentralization Considerations
The proposal faces skepticism regarding proprietary Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). A leak from a TEE could potentially compromise privacy promises or fair ordering guarantees. However, nuConstruct clarifies they utilize the more secure Intel TDX architecture rather than older SGX, noting TDX provides enhanced isolation.
The team contends the system remains resilient even in rare hardware compromise scenarios, thanks to a permissionless peer-to-peer structure, robust defense mechanisms, and its self-adapting nature.
Concerns about centralization risks are also raised due to cloud providers currently hosting TEEs and the system’s dependence on validator participation. Yet, nuConstruct argues TOOL remains superior to alternatives.
“TOOL aims to be censorship resistant and to have unmatched liveness properties due to being a fully permissionless peer-to-peer network,” noted 0xprincess.
A Potential Challenge to Existing Systems
TOOL positions itself as either an alternative or successor to technologies like MEV-boost. It seeks to overcome gatekeeping in Ethereum’s transaction submission process, which nuConstruct claims is better than proposals like Ethereum’s future Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS), where Builders and Relays currently control access.
Its initial offering is a decentralized “Searcher Network” Minimum Viable Product (MVP). NuConstruct has secured $6 million in seed funding from prominent crypto investors including Cyber Fund, Maven11, DCG, Greenfield Capital, and Eden Block.
Success for nuConstruct, according to 0xprincess, will depend on achieving high “pre-commitment rates” among validators and aggregating a large share of private order flow within the next three months.
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