Aptos proposes encrypted mempool to shield trades from frontrunning
Aptos (APT)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
crypto.news reports that Aptos Labs has proposed an encrypted mempool to hide pending trade instructions until transaction ordering is complete. The protocol aims to protect pending orders while ensuring completed transactions remain public on the blockchain. Governance approval is required for Aptos to become the first L1 to offer this native protection.
Research indicates the feature adds 27 milliseconds of latency, representing a 14% increase over the baseline system. Validators share control of the decryption key during each epoch, using a stake-based threshold to reveal encrypted payloads. This batched decryption reduces processing burdens, with the online phase taking less than 20 milliseconds per batch.
The design targets orderflow leakage, censorship, and maximal extractable value (MEV) for large onchain transactions. Aptos Labs outlined this optional submission method in a blog post on October 30, 2025. The company stated, “If approved by governance, Aptos will be the first L1 to offer users the option to send transactions via a native Encrypted Mempool.” Aptos has committed over $50 million to products, research, and trading infrastructure, including support for Decibel.
Decibel, an onchain order book exchange, recorded cumulative trading volume exceeding $1 billion by May. The network also noted its stablecoin market capitalization peaked at $1.93 billion, nearly ten times its late 2024 level.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for APT, measured when this story was written up on 5 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
APT is trading at $0.8016 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 37.7%, indicating immediate selling pressure. However, the 4-hour buy ratio sits at 51.8%, suggesting buying pressure is building over a slightly longer timeframe compared to the 24-hour average of 49.1%. The 1-hour volume delta is -$197,888, showing net outflows in the short term, while the 4-hour delta is positive at +$78,155. Over the last 24 hours, the volume delta is -$89,929, but the cumulative volume delta (CVD) at close is +$2,453. This means that while recent flow has been negative, the overall 24-hour trend still shows a slight net buying bias. Spot volume for the period was $5,037,273 across 50,801 trades.
The latest daily buy ratio of 51.2% sits at the 79th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.3% - stronger buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for APT, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 48.1%, making the current 24-hour ratio of 49.1% a slight increase of 1.0 point. Trading volume has been subdued, measuring 0.46 times the weekly average. The price has declined by 7.3% over the eight-day period, with a total volume delta of -$3,829,986. Net buying occurred on only 2 of the 7 days, indicating a generally bearish week. This day shows slightly stronger buying intent than the weekly average but remains within a context of lower volume and price decline.