Aptos has opened an onchain governance vote for AIP-144, a proposal that would introduce a native encrypted mempool to the network, shielding pending transactions from exploitation before blo
Aptos has opened an onchain governance vote for AIP-144, a proposal that would introduce a native encrypted mempool to the network, shielding pending transactions from exploitation before blocks are confirmed.
At the core of AIP-144 is a straightforward but technically significant idea: users can choose to encrypt transaction content before submission, and validators will collaboratively decrypt it after consensus determines the transaction ordering, thereby reducing MEV risks such as front-running.
MEV, or maximal extractable value, is a well-documented problem in crypto markets. It refers to the maximum value that can be extracted from block production in excess of the standard block reward and gas fees by including, excluding, and changing the order of transactions in a block. In practice, this means validators or bots can observe pending transactions and act on them before they are confirmed, at the expense of ordinary users.
Aptos Labs said transaction details remain confidential until execution, protecting users from frontrunning, censorship, and order-flow manipulation while confirmed transactions remain public on-chain as usual. The feature would be optional, with sender information and transaction fees still remaining visible.
The system uses batched threshold encryption, allowing validators to collectively decrypt batches of transactions in one operation, reducing communication and computing overhead compared with decrypting each transaction separately.Aptos Labs added that users should be able to submit encrypted transactions with "no impact to latency" once the system is live.
The design and implementation has been audited by zkSecurity.
Proposal #206 is currently under voting and intends to activate ChunkyDKG V1 full mode and encrypted transactions. However, approval is far from certain. Voting for the proposal ends on October 6, but support remains below the required threshold, with yes votes standing at approximately 32.586 million APT, significantly short of the 300 million APT needed for passage.
Aptos said: "Pending governance approval, Aptos will be the first L1 to offer a native encrypted mempool." If passed, the upgrade would represent a meaningful step forward for transaction privacy at the protocol level, with potential appeal for both retail traders and institutional participants looking to avoid order-flow exposure.
Sources:PANews: Aptos proposal aims to enable encrypted transaction pool to reduce front-running riskCrypto.news: Aptos proposes encrypted mempool to shield trades from front-runningAptos Developer Docs: Encrypted Mempool Glossary
