FAQ

General

What is AXIO?

AXIO is a high-performance MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) infrastructure layer built for the X1/Tachyon blockchain. It provides a complete block engine, relay, and auction system that enables searchers to capture MEV opportunities while sharing revenue with validators and stakers. AXIO handles bundle simulation, slot-based auctions, tip distribution, and JIT (just-in-time) transaction forwarding — all optimized for sub-millisecond latency at scale.

What is MEV and why does it matter?

MEV refers to the additional value that can be extracted from block production beyond standard block rewards and transaction fees. This includes profits from arbitrage between DEXs, liquidations in lending protocols, sandwich trades, and backrunning large swaps. Without proper MEV infrastructure, this value is captured chaotically — leading to network spam, failed transactions, and a worse experience for everyone. AXIO provides an orderly auction system where searchers compete on tip price rather than spam, resulting in cleaner blocks, better validator revenue, and reduced network congestion.

How is AXIO different from Jito?

While AXIO is architecturally inspired by Jito and targets feature parity, there are key differences:

• Chain-native: AXIO is purpose-built for X1/Tachyon rather than being a Solana add-on.
• Single-server architecture: The engine, validator, and relay run on the same machine, eliminating network hops between simulation and block production.
• Continuous auction model: AXIO runs slot-based auctions with tight TTLs (3-5 seconds) for faster bundle resolution.
• Integrated staking: aXNT liquid staking is a first-class component, not a separate protocol.
• Performance: 94.7% bundle landing rate, p99 latency of 3.32ms, and 5,000+ concurrent connections out of the box.

Is AXIO open source?

The AXIO validator lite image and client SDK are available to network participants. The core block engine, simulation pipeline, and proprietary MEV strategies are not open source — they are maintained internally to protect searcher privacy and network integrity. Validator operators receive a pre-built image that integrates with the AXIO relay without exposing backend logic.

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Staking

What is aXNT?

aXNT is AXIO's liquid staking token (LST). When you stake XNT into the AXIO staking program, you receive aXNT in return. aXNT represents your share of the staking pool and accrues value over time as MEV rewards and staking yield flow into the pool. You can hold, transfer, or use aXNT in DeFi while your underlying stake continues earning.

How does the exchange rate work?

aXNT uses a rising exchange rate model. When the pool launches, 1 aXNT equals 1 XNT. As rewards accumulate in the pool, the exchange rate increases — meaning each aXNT becomes redeemable for more XNT over time. For example, if the rate rises to 1.05, each aXNT is worth 1.05 XNT. You never receive more aXNT tokens; instead, each token you hold becomes more valuable. This is the same model used by successful LSTs like Jito's JitoSOL.

What APY can I expect?

APY varies based on network MEV activity, validator performance, and the total amount staked. The yield combines base staking rewards from the X1/Tachyon network with MEV revenue sharing from the AXIO block engine. Actual returns depend on market conditions and block engine utilization. Check the AXIO dashboard for current real-time APY figures.

Where does the yield come from?

Yield has two sources:

1. Base staking rewards: Standard validator staking rewards from the X1/Tachyon network for securing consensus.
2. MEV revenue sharing: A portion of the tips paid by searchers through the AXIO auction system. When searchers submit bundles with tips, those tips are split between the validator, the staking pool (aXNT holders), and the AXIO protocol.

Is my stake safe? What are the risks?

AXIO staking is non-custodial — your funds are held by on-chain programs, not by a centralized entity. However, there are risks to be aware of:

• Smart contract risk: Although the staking programs have been security audited, on-chain programs can contain bugs.
• Slashing risk: The AXIO staking architecture includes a slashing layer. Validators that behave maliciously or fail to meet uptime requirements may have a portion of delegated stake slashed.
• Liquidity risk: While aXNT is transferable, secondary market liquidity depends on adoption. Unstaking has a cooldown period.
• Exchange rate risk: The aXNT exchange rate is designed to only go up, but a major protocol exploit could theoretically impact it.

How do I unstake? How long does it take?

To unstake, you submit an unstake request through the AXIO staking program. Your aXNT is burned and XNT is queued for withdrawal. There is a cooldown period (typically one epoch) before your XNT becomes available to claim. This cooldown exists to maintain pool stability and align with the underlying validator stake deactivation timeline.

What fees are charged?

The AXIO staking program charges a management fee on accrued rewards (not on your principal). This fee funds protocol development, relay infrastructure, and the AXIO treasury. The exact fee percentage is set by governance and is visible on-chain. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees beyond standard network transaction costs.

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Searchers

How do I submit bundles?

Bundles are submitted via the AXIO SDK or directly through the gRPC API. The typical flow is:

1. Connect to the AXIO block engine endpoint.
2. Construct your bundle as an ordered list of transactions (up to 5).
3. Attach a tip transaction paying the AXIO tip program.
4. Submit via sendBundle on the gRPC interface or use the SDK's BundleClient.

See the Searcher Guide for full integration details and code examples.

What is the tip floor?

The tip floor is the minimum tip amount required for a bundle to be considered in the auction. Bundles that tip below the floor are rejected immediately. The tip floor exists to prevent spam and ensure that auction slots are used by serious searchers. The current floor is set by the protocol and may adjust based on network conditions.

How many transactions can a bundle have?

A bundle can contain a maximum of 5 transactions. All transactions in a bundle are executed atomically and in order — either all land or none do. This ensures that multi-step MEV strategies (e.g., swap then arbitrage) execute as a single unit without risk of partial execution.

Are my transactions private?

Yes. Bundles submitted through AXIO are never exposed to the public mempool. They travel directly from the searcher to the block engine over an encrypted gRPC connection, are simulated privately, and if they win the auction, are injected directly into the block. Other searchers and validators cannot see your transactions before they land on-chain.

What is the reputation system?

AXIO tracks searcher reputation based on historical bundle quality. Factors include:

• Landing rate: What percentage of your bundles successfully land on-chain.
• Tip consistency: Whether you tip above the floor and competitively.
• Failure rate: How often your bundles fail simulation.
• Spam score: Whether you submit excessive low-quality bundles.

Higher-reputation searchers receive priority in tie-breaking scenarios during auctions. New searchers start with a neutral reputation that improves as they submit quality bundles.

Can I use encrypted bundles?

Encrypted bundle support is on the AXIO roadmap. This feature will allow searchers to submit bundles where transaction contents are encrypted until the block is produced, preventing any possibility of front-running by infrastructure operators. Check the Roadmap for the latest status.

What MEV types are supported?

AXIO supports all major MEV strategies:

• Arbitrage: Cross-DEX price discrepancy capture.
• Liquidation: DeFi protocol liquidation opportunities.
• JIT (Just-In-Time) liquidity: Providing liquidity just before a large swap and removing it after.
• Backrun: Placing a transaction immediately after a target transaction to capture resulting price movement.
• Sandwich: Wrapping a target transaction with a buy-before and sell-after pair.

The block engine is strategy-agnostic — it simulates and auctions any valid bundle regardless of the MEV type.

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Validators

How do I join the AXIO network?

To join the AXIO network as a validator:

1. Run a standard X1/Tachyon validator.
2. Install the AXIO validator lite image, which integrates the relay client and bundle injection hooks into your validator.
3. Register with the AXIO relay by providing your validator identity.
4. The lite image connects to the AXIO backend automatically — you never need to run the block engine yourself.

See the Validator Guide for detailed setup instructions.

Does AXIO change consensus behavior?

No. AXIO does not modify the consensus mechanism in any way. Your validator still participates in Tachyon consensus identically to a vanilla validator. The only difference is that during your leader slots, the block engine may inject winning auction bundles into your block alongside normal mempool transactions. Consensus rules, voting, and fork choice are completely unaffected.

What happens if the relay goes down?

If the AXIO relay becomes unreachable, your validator automatically falls back to standard mempool behavior. Blocks are produced normally using transactions from the gossip network. There is zero downtime risk — the relay is an enhancement layer, not a dependency. When the relay recovers, bundle injection resumes automatically.

How are tips distributed?

Tips from winning bundles are distributed according to the on-chain tip distribution program:

• A percentage goes to the block-producing validator for that slot.
• A percentage flows to the aXNT staking pool, increasing the exchange rate for all stakers.
• A percentage goes to the AXIO protocol treasury for infrastructure and development.

The exact split is defined on-chain and visible to all participants.

What is the commission structure?

Validators set their own commission rate on MEV tips, similar to how they set commission on standard staking rewards. The AXIO protocol takes a separate protocol fee from the total tip before the validator commission is applied. This means validators earn their chosen commission percentage on the post-protocol-fee amount. There are no hidden fees — all rates are on-chain and auditable.

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Technical

What blockchain does AXIO run on?

AXIO runs on X1/Tachyon, a high-performance Solana-compatible blockchain. Tachyon uses the same runtime, transaction format, and program model as Solana, which means existing Solana tooling, wallets, and SDKs work out of the box. The key difference is the X1 consensus layer and validator set, which AXIO is purpose-built to optimize.

What is the bundle landing rate?

AXIO achieves a 94.7% bundle landing rate in production. This means that nearly 19 out of every 20 bundles that win the auction successfully land on-chain. The remaining failures are typically due to state changes between simulation and execution (e.g., another transaction modifying the same account in the same slot). This rate compares favorably with industry benchmarks.

What is the end-to-end latency?

End-to-end latency from bundle submission to on-chain inclusion:

• p50 (median): Under 2ms
• p99: 3.32ms

This is measured from the moment the bundle arrives at the gRPC endpoint to when it is injected into the block. The single-server architecture eliminates network hops between the engine and the validator, which is a major contributor to these low latency numbers.

How many connections can the engine handle?

The AXIO block engine supports 5,000+ concurrent connections with zero errors. Load testing has verified sustained throughput of 9,500 messages per second across 2,000 simultaneous connections. The gRPC interface supports burst patterns of 100 connections each sending 70 messages (7,000 total) without degradation. The engine is designed to scale horizontally as network demand grows.