Aptos adds optional encrypted transactions to mainnet

Aptos has made its Encrypted Mempool available on mainnet, letting users hide transaction details while validators decide their order—a step aimed at making it harder for bots to trade ahead of them. Aptos announced the launch on Oct. 12 in its mainnet launch post. The feature targets maximal extractable value, or MEV: profits made by changing how pending transactions are ordered.

The option is available per transaction. Aptos says it encrypts a transaction’s contents on the user’s device before submission. The sender’s address and gas fee remain visible, but the function being called and its arguments are hidden until the block’s order is final.

How does Aptos keep trades hidden?

Validators agree on transaction order before they decrypt encrypted transactions, according to Aptos. The validators do the decryption together after consensus—the process for agreeing on a block—is complete. No single validator can decrypt a pending transaction alone, the company says.

Aptos says the system uses threshold encryption, which requires a stake-weighted majority of validators to decrypt. The same validator set orders transactions and holds the decryption shares. That means users rely on the chain’s existing validators rather than a separate decryption committee, according to the launch post.

What does the feature cost users and the network?

Encrypted transactions carry a higher minimum gas price. Cointelegraph reported that Aptos’ developer documentation sets it at twice the network’s base minimum. Gas is the fee paid to process a transaction.

Aptos also reported roughly 20 milliseconds of added delay per block in tests with 50 nodes. The launch post compares this with AptosBFT, the network’s consensus system. The added delay is a network cost; the higher minimum fee applies to users who submit encrypted transactions.

Which wallets and apps can use it?

Aptos says its TypeScript software development kit supports encryption from version 7.0. Petra is the first wallet to offer the option in its signing flow, and the Decibel exchange plans to use it for orders. The company says existing Aptos smart contracts do not need changes.

The feature is optional, so users and apps must choose to use it. By hiding trade details until order is set, it aims to limit bots’ ability to spot a pending trade and place transactions around it. The launch materials describe that protection as the feature’s purpose; they do not report measured changes in attacks or trader losses since launch.

Sources and documents

• mainnet launch post — aptosnetwork.com