Aptos shipped encrypted mempool and confidential asset plumbing in v1.45.4. The governance script still needs to run.
Aptos is building private transaction infrastructure piece by piece. The v1.45.4 notes show the plumbing arriving before the feature.
CryptoVibe Desk · aptos · protocol · encrypted-mempool
- →Aptos shipped mainnet node v1.45.4 on May 20, adding encrypted mempool fields, a gas version bump, and a governance script to enable APT for confidential assets.
- →The confidential asset work is a governance script, not a live feature: private APT transfers don't exist on mainnet until validators vote to enable them.
- →Watch for the on-chain governance proposal that runs the confidential-enable script. If it passes within 60 days, confidential APT reaches users before Q3.
- encrypted mempool → Transactions wait in a public queue (the mempool) before being confirmed; an encrypted mempool hides those transactions so other users can't read and copy them first.
- confidential assets → A feature that lets users send tokens without revealing the amount on-chain, so only the sender and receiver know the transaction size.
- governance script → A piece of code that activates only after validators vote to approve it, used to change network settings without requiring a full software upgrade.
- gas version → A number Aptos uses to track changes to its fee schedule; when it bumps, the rules for how transaction costs are calculated have changed.
Aptos shipped mainnet node v1.45.4 on May 20. The release notes list encrypted mempool work, a gas version bump, and a governance script to enable APT for confidential assets. None of the headline items are immediately user-facing. That's the catch.
The confidential asset entry is the one that will get attention. Confidential assets on Aptos let users transact without publishing amounts on-chain. The v1.45.4 release adds a governance script to enable APT for this feature.
But the script hasn't run. It activates only after validators pass an on-chain proposal. If you're expecting private APT transfers today, they aren't there yet.
The encrypted mempool work is similar in shape. The release quietly adds a `claimed_entry_fun` field to `EncryptedPayload`. At the contract level, this extends the data structure the encrypted mempool uses to identify which function a payload targets. It doesn't change what validators see in their mempool today. It's the plumbing that future encrypted mempool logic needs to work with.
The gas version bump is the most immediate operational change. Aptos uses versioned gas schedules to price operations. A bump on main means the fee schedule changed. The release also increases gas limits for governance proposal simulation, so larger governance scripts don't hit a ceiling mid-computation. If you're running validator tooling, this is the change that affects you now.
The tradeoff is the same one Aptos uses for most of its feature work: ship the infrastructure in node releases, enable via governance. That keeps unvetted user-facing logic off mainnet. It also means a release that looks substantial in the notes is mostly a no-op for users until the vote runs.
If you're developing on Aptos, read the PR diff on the `claimed_entry_fun` change before building any encrypted mempool integration. The field is there. What the protocol does with it next depends on governance.
Aptos Labs is leaving developers without a roadmap. The confidential-enable script is live in mainnet code, the validator vote has no public date, and third-party integrations can't plan until one appears. That's not infrastructure discipline. It's delay.
The on-chain governance vote to run the confidential-enable script on Aptos mainnet, passing within 60 days and putting private APT transfers in users' hands before Q3.
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