CoW Protocol, developed by Gnosis, is a decentralized finance (DeFi) trading protocol that leverages fair combinatorial batch auctions to optimize liquidity and protect users from common decentralized exchange vulnerabilities. It operates permissionlessly on Ethereum, matching orders through a mechanism called Coincidence of Wants (CoWs), which allows trades to be settled directly between parties without relying solely on traditional liquidity pools. This approach maximizes liquidity efficiency by finding optimal trade combinations and tapping into all available on-chain liquidity when necessary.

The protocol addresses the problem of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) attacks, such as frontrunning and sandwich attacks, by integrating MEV Blocker, an RPC endpoint that shields user transactions from these exploitative behaviors. MEV Blocker also introduces an order flow auction system that rewards users with rebates from backrunning activities, enhancing trade fairness. Additionally, CoW AMM, a novel automated market maker, is designed to protect liquidity providers from losses caused by stale pricing and arbitrage exploitation, a common issue known as Loss Versus Rebalancing (LVR).

CoW Protocol is governed by the CoW DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that empowers the community to steer the protocol's development and governance. Developers and product teams can integrate with CoW Protocol using its open documentation, which includes conceptual overviews, tutorials, and technical references. The protocol supports building custom trading interfaces, leveraging MEV protection, and deploying efficient liquidity pools. Getting started involves exploring the CoW Protocol Explorer, using the CoW Swap frontend, and accessing the MEV Blocker RPC endpoint for secure transaction submission.