Aptos launched an optional encrypted mempool on its mainnet on October 12, 2026, aimed at mitigating MEV attacks like frontrunning and sandwich attacks. The protocol-level feature conceals transaction functions and inputs using threshold encryption until validator consensus finalizes block ordering. While adding 20 milliseconds of latency and requiring double the minimum base gas price, the feature protects pending user trades. Petra wallet and exchange Decibel have announced integration.
Mainnet launch and intended users
- ▪Aptos designed the Encrypted Mempool feature for institutional traders submitting large transactions, individual users seeking protection against MEV attacks, AI agents, and application developers.
- ▪Aptos activated its optional Encrypted Mempool feature on mainnet on October 12, 2026, allowing users to conceal pending transaction details prior to execution.
Threshold encryption and consensus process
- ▪Aptos' encrypted mempool uses client-side threshold encryption where transactions are encrypted on the user's device before submission using a key generated by validators per epoch.
- ▪Aptos validators agree on transaction block ordering in the mempool while blind to transaction contents, collectively decrypting payloads only after consensus finalizes the block.
- ▪Aptos' encrypted mempool conceals transaction functions and arguments before finalization while keeping sender addresses and network fees visible.
- ▪Decryption of pending transactions on Aptos requires a stake-weighted threshold majority of existing validators specified under Aptos Improvement Proposal AIP-144.
Gas fees for encrypted transactions
- ▪Encrypted transactions on the Aptos network require a minimum gas price of 200 octas per gas unit, twice the network's standard base minimum gas price.
- ▪Encrypted transactions on Aptos incur an additional fee of 375 gas units for payload decryption, separate from the gas consumed executing transaction instructions.
Performance benchmarks and latency impact
- ▪Aptos reported that transaction blocks finalize in less than one second on its mainnet consensus implementation.
- ▪Aptos reported that its batched threshold-encryption system added approximately 20 milliseconds of latency per block in benchmark tests involving 50 validator nodes.
Ecosystem integration and developer support
- ▪Aptos-based perpetual futures exchange Decibel plans to adopt the encrypted mempool feature to keep pending order details private until execution.
- ▪Aptos introduced client-side encrypted transaction support for developers through version 7.0.0 and later of its TypeScript software development kit.
- ▪Petra is the first wallet to integrate Aptos' encrypted mempool into its transaction-signing flow, allowing users to enable payload encryption on a per-transaction basis.
Security review and cryptographic research
- ▪Aptos' encrypted mempool implementation underwent an independent security review by ZKSecurity before its mainnet launch.
- ▪Aptos submitted a research paper describing the full cryptographic construction of its encrypted mempool to the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security.
APT token market performance
- ▪Following the launch of the encrypted mempool on October 12, 2026, Aptos' native APT token fell 11.5% over 24 hours to $0.7995.
- ▪According to CoinGecko, Aptos' native APT token recorded a market capitalization of approximately $697.14 million and a 24-hour trading volume near $98.91 million on October 13, 2026.
MEV and sandwich attack context
- ▪Bitquery identified 6.9 million Solana sandwich attacks that extracted $29.7 million from 2.2 million wallets between October 30, 2025, and October 7, 2026.
- ▪Trading bots monitor pending public blockchain transactions to execute frontrunning and sandwich attacks ahead of user trades.
- ▪Sandwich attacks on Ethereum cost traders approximately $60 million over the 12 months leading up to October 2025, according to Cointelegraph's analysis of EigenPhi data.
Debatable claims
- ▪Aptos' MEV protection justifies its added gas fees and block latency
- ▪Public blockchains should make transaction payload encryption mandatory for all users
- ▪Concealing transaction payloads is effective at preventing MEV frontrunning on Aptos
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