Aptos's opt-in encrypted mempool costs about 20 milliseconds a block in testing
Aptos switched on an optional encrypted mempool on October 12 that hides transaction contents until a block is finalized, Cryptopolitan reported. Ethereum's two comparable proposals are still drafts.
The Investor · Invest desk
Key figures: the TrX research paper measured a 27-millisecond delay from proposal to execution, around 14% slower than normal. Aptos's consensus test used 50 nodes. AIP-144 says its batch approach supports more than 1,000 transactions per second at launch.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delay, proposal to execution, TrX paper | 27 ms | around 14% slower than normal | 7 |
| Nodes in Aptos's test | 50 nodes | 6 | |
| Supported at launch, over | 1,000 tx a second | 5 |
What happened
- AIP-144, written by Aptos Labs cryptographer Rex Fernando, locks a transaction's function and inputs with a key that is generated fresh for each round.
- In a 50-node test on Aptos's real consensus system, each block took about 20 milliseconds longer and still finished in under a second.
- The genesis unlock for core contributors and early backers ran four years from the October 2022 mainnet launch and ended October 12, 2026, Aptos said on X.
Why it matters
- constraint Sender addresses and fees stay in the clear, so the feature hides what a transaction does but not who sent it or what it pays.
- capability Petra users can seal an order's function and inputs now, and developers can do it through the SDK; Decibel, the perpetuals exchange, is only a planned user.
- contradiction The 60% cut and the separate 4.54 million for Community and Foundation pools do not obviously fit together: stacked, they total 9.08 million a month, a 19.7% cut.
Being first is a narrower claim than it sounds, because the three designs are different products. Aptos decrypts through its existing validator set, using the stake-weighted threshold that already drives consensus, so no outside committee is involved [13]. Ethereum's EIP-8184, also called LUCID, was drafted in March 2026 by Anders Elowsson, Justin Florentine and Julian Ma, has a coalition led by Shutter Network with Fairblock and Nillion behind it, and has users commit to a transaction first and reveal it later [8]. Vitalik Buterin proposed a separate recursive STARK mempool, EIP-8288, in September [9].
The latency cost is small and not yet settled. The TrX paper behind the feature, submitted to the ACM CCS conference, measured a 27-millisecond delay from proposal to execution, around 14% slower than normal [7]. That implies a baseline near 193 milliseconds [14]. The 50-node test is a different measurement, and the two figures should not be averaged. AIP-144 puts the launch ceiling at more than 1,000 transactions per second [5]. Cryptopolitan's account includes no usage figure for sealed transactions and no APT price.
The supply change is the larger number for holders, in our view. At the old pace of 11.31 million APT a month, annual releases came to 135.72 million, or 15.6% of the 871.02 million in circulation on September 30 [15][21][24]. At 4.54 million a month the annual figure is 54.48 million, or 6.3% [16], and the step from 11.31 million to 4.54 million is a 59.9% cut [18]. Staking, which Cryptopolitan says becomes the main source of new APT, adds about 19.8 million a year, or 2.3% of circulation [23][19].
The 60% cut is a 60% cut, or rather it is only if the 4.54 million that Cryptopolitan says goes to the Community and Foundation pools through 2032 sits inside that figure [22]. If it is additional, annual releases are 108.96 million, or 12.5% of circulation [20].
The shared date is a calendar fact. Aptos said the genesis unlock ended on October 12 [11], and the mempool went live that day [12]. No source says one was timed to the other. The counter-thesis is that a team shipping a feature on the day a supply overhang ends is choosing its news cycle, and in that case the date is strategy.
We would be wrong on the supply point if Aptos publishes a schedule showing 9.08 million a month, because the 60% headline would shrink to about 20% [17]. We would be wrong on the feature if sealed transactions grow into a large share of Aptos volume once integrations beyond the first wallet arrive.
What to watch
- Whether Aptos or its foundation publishes the monthly release schedule, and whether the total is 4.54 million or 9.08 million.
- Decibel going live with the option, and any figure for sealed transactions as a share of Aptos volume.
- Whether EIP-8184 or EIP-8288 moves from proposal toward implementation, and the ACM CCS decision on the TrX paper.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption15
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives55
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Aptos switched on an optional, protocol-native encrypted mempool on October 12, hiding transaction payloads until a block is finalized.
- [2]
Ethereum's equivalent proposals, EIP-8184 and EIP-8288, are still only proposals and unbuilt.
- [3]
The feature comes from AIP-144, written by Aptos Labs cryptographer Rex Fernando; it locks the called function and inputs with a key the validators create together, and a fresh key is created for each round.
- [4]
The sender's address and the fees remain visible; the feature offers pre-execution confidentiality, not permanent anonymity.
- [5]
A batch approach lets validators take one small, fixed-size step to unlock all sealed transactions in a block regardless of count; AIP-144 says that is enough to support more than 1,000 transactions per second at launch.
- [6]
A test with 50 nodes on Aptos's real consensus system found each block took about 20 milliseconds longer but still finished in under a second.
- [7]
A research paper called TrX, submitted to the ACM CCS security conference, measured a 27-millisecond delay from proposal to execution, around 14% slower than normal.
- [8]
EIP-8184, also called LUCID, is backed by the Encrypt the Mempool Coalition led by Shutter Network and joined by Fairblock and Nillion; it was drafted in March 2026 by Anders Elowsson, Justin Florentine and Julian Ma and lets users commit to a transaction first and reveal it later.
- [9]
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a recursive STARK mempool in EIP-8288 in September.
- [10]
Petra is the first wallet to build the Aptos option into its signing process; Decibel, a perpetuals exchange, is a planned user; the TypeScript SDK has supported the option since version 7.0.0.
- [11]
The genesis unlock for core contributors and early backers ran exactly four years from the October 2022 mainnet launch and concluded on October 12, 2026, Aptos said on X, leaving no genesis insider tokens left to vest.
- [12]
The encrypted mempool went live on the same day the Aptos network's four-year token unlock schedule came to an end.
- [13]
Decryption is handled by the existing Aptos validator set through a stake-weighted threshold, the same one used to reach consensus, so no single validator can open a pending transaction and no outside committee is involved.
- [14]
The TrX paper's 27 ms delay at about 14% slower than normal implies an unencrypted proposal-to-execution baseline of roughly 193 ms.
- [15]
At the old 11.31 million APT a month, annual releases are 135.72 million, about 15.6% of the 871.02 million in circulation.
- [16]
At 4.54 million a month, annual releases are 54.48 million, about 6.3% of the 871.02 million in circulation.
- [17]
If the second 4.54 million is additional to the first, monthly releases total 9.08 million, a cut of about 19.7% from 11.31 million.
- [18]
The step from 11.31 million to 4.54 million a month is a cut of about 59.9%.
- [19]
Staking's 19.8 million APT a year is about 2.3% of the 871.02 million in circulation.
- [20]
If monthly releases total 9.08 million, annual releases are 108.96 million, about 12.5% of the 871.02 million in circulation.
- [21]
Cryptopolitan reported earlier this month that Aptos is cutting the monthly release of new APT tokens by about 60%, from 11.31 million to 4.54 million.
- [22]
The other 4.54 million will go to the Community and Foundation pools through 2032.
- [23]
Staking rewards, now up to 2.6% a year, will become the main source of new APT, adding about 19.8 million tokens annually.
- [24]
As of September 30 there were 871.02 million APT in circulation.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cryptopolitan.comAptos ships native encrypted mempool as four-year vesting ends
1 article · October 13, 2026
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