TLDR
- Aptos launched an optional Encrypted Mempool on mainnet to hide pending transaction details from trading bots.
- Validators order transactions without seeing the contents, then decrypt them together after the order is final.
- Encrypted transactions pay twice the base minimum gas price and add about 20 milliseconds per block in tests.
- Bitquery counted 6.9 million sandwich attacks on Solana that took $29.7 million from traders over 11 months.
- The APT token traded at $0.7995, down 11.5% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
Aptos has launched a new feature on its mainnet that hides transaction details from trading bots. The feature is called Encrypted Mempool, and it is optional for users. Aptos confirmed the launch on October 12.
Encrypted Mempool is now LIVE on Aptos mainnet.
Users can opt in to keep pending transactions encrypted until their block is finalized, lowering the risk of MEV attacks.
→ Opt-in, one transaction at a time
→ The function called and its inputs stay encrypted until execution
→… pic.twitter.com/LAvDsaijfP— Aptos (@Aptos) October 12, 2026
The goal is to stop frontrunning and sandwich attacks. These are forms of maximal extractable value, or MEV, where bots profit from pending trades. Aptos said the tool was built for institutions, traders, AI agents and developers.
In its announcement, Aptos described the problem plainly. “Bots use that visibility to trade against you or copy your strategy,” the network said. Most major chains show transaction details before they run.
How Encrypted Mempool works
A compatible wallet encrypts the transaction on the user’s device before sending it. The assets, amounts and smart contract functions stay hidden. The sender’s address and gas fee remain visible.
Validators then agree on the order of transactions without seeing what is inside them. Once the order is final, they combine decryption shares to reveal the contents. The transactions are then executed and recorded onchain.
No single validator can decrypt a pending transaction alone. The system needs a stake-weighted majority of validators, which follows the security rules of Aptos’ existing consensus. The design is described in AIP-144.
Aptos said its approach differs from others because its current validators handle both ordering and decryption. It does not rely on a separate committee or trusted builders. Gnosis Chain uses Shutter for a similar tool, and Ethereum’s Flashbots Protect routes trades privately.
Costs and developer support
The protection has a price. Encrypted transactions must pay at least 200 octas per gas unit, which is twice the network’s base minimum. Each one also uses an extra 375 gas units for decryption.
Aptos reported about 20 milliseconds of added delay per block in tests with 50 nodes. The network’s production consensus normally finalizes blocks in under one second. An independent firm, ZKSecurity, reviewed the system before launch.
Developers can use the feature through version 7.0.0 and later of the Aptos TypeScript SDK. Existing Move smart contracts need no changes. Petra is the first wallet to offer encryption at signing, and the exchange Decibel plans to use it for private pending orders.
The cost of sandwich attacks
In a sandwich attack, a bot spots an incoming trade. It buys the asset first, then sells after the user’s trade pushes the price up.
Bitquery found about 6.9 million such attacks on Solana from October 30, 2025, to October 7, 2026. Bots took $29.7 million before trading costs and hit about 2.2 million wallets. Roughly 96% of the attacks involved memecoins tied to Pump.fun markets.
Daily attacks rose from about 3,400 in late 2025 to 51,900 in September 2026. Cointelegraph also reported that sandwich attacks cost Ethereum traders about $60 million in the 12 months through October 2025. The Bitquery research covered Solana and did not measure losses on Aptos.
Aptos also offers Keyless Accounts and Confidential APT as separate optional privacy tools. Aptos had first outlined its plans in May 2026.
CoinGecko data showed APT trading at $0.7995 after the launch, down 11.5% over 24 hours. The token ranged between $0.7974 and $0.9135, with volume near $98.91 million and a market value of about $697.14 million.
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