Aptos Encrypted Mempool proposal aims to cut MEV via private mempool

Aptos has proposed a native Encrypted Mempool upgrade to protect users from frontrunning, censorship, and orderflow manipulation. If approved via governance, Aptos would become the first Layer 1 to support encrypted transaction submission at the protocol level. The Encrypted Mempool lets users send encrypted transactions with one click, keeping transaction intent private until execution, while full transaction data is revealed on-chain after block confirmation. Aptos links the change to growing DEX activity and the MEV market, saying many blockchains expose pending transactions early—allowing validators and others to reorder and profit. Technically, Aptos says the system uses threshold cryptography and distributed key generation before each validator epoch. Validators decrypt collectively only after block ordering. To address scalability, Aptos proposes a batched threshold decryption method that creates one partial decryption per batch instead of per transaction, reducing communication, computation, and latency. Aptos also claims replay-attack prevention, no need for users to compete for encryption slots, and no transaction resubmissions. The company says the Encrypted Mempool is integrated into consensus with minimal added latency. Market context: APT has risen over the past 30 days (about $0.82 to nearly $1.10), though it is down ~2% over the last 24 hours near $1.10.