Aptos has activated Confidential APT on mainnet, introducing an opt-in way for users to shield wallet balances and transfer amounts from public view while still allowing validators to confirm that each transaction is valid. The asset is pegged 1:1 to APT, so users who want transparent balances can keep using the network as before.
The rollout followed Governance Proposal 188, which passed with 100% support across more than 302 million APT staked. Turnout reached 25.19%, clearing the required quorum of 24.97%. That vote gave the network-wide approval needed for the feature to go live on Aptos mainnet.
Amounts are shielded, wallet addresses stay visible
Confidential APT uses zero-knowledge proofs and Twisted ElGamal encryption to process on-chain balance updates without exposing the underlying numbers to validators. The system does not conceal wallet addresses, which remain visible on the public chain. That places the product in a different category from fully opaque privacy coins such as Monero.
In comments to Cointelegraph, Aptos Labs founding engineer Sherry Xiao said the launch was shaped by harms already visible on-chain. She pointed to portfolio sniping, social pressure tied to visible holdings, and personal safety risks as current pain points for users. She also gave a workplace example: if payroll is handled on-chain with transparent amounts, every employee’s salary becomes permanently visible to coworkers, competitors, and recruiters.
Built for on-chain business activity as well as retail use
Xiao said the same issue extends to treasury operations, settlement flows, and trading strategies. In her words, blockchain’s default transparency is an “operational dealbreaker” for many businesses. Confidential APT is aimed at reducing that exposure while keeping transactions verifiable on-chain.
AIP-143 went live without a designated auditor. That authority has been reserved for a future on-chain governance proposal. If an auditor is appointed later, that party would only be able to inspect transactions and balances created from that point onward. Activity that took place before the appointment would remain out of reach regardless of later governance action.
Xiao said the structure is intended to let authorized parties, including those involved in legal investigations, access specific transaction details when necessary without removing ordinary users’ default privacy protections.
Launch follows a series of regulatory and market-structure steps
The mainnet debut comes after several months of changes that have pushed Aptos closer to institutional use. In January, Bitnomial listed the first US-regulated APT futures contracts under CFTC oversight. In February, a governance decision imposed a hard cap on APT’s total supply, introduced permanent token lockups, and reduced staking emissions. In March, a joint SEC/CFTC ruling formally classified APT as a digital commodity, removing a major regulatory question for funds and ETF applicants.
Separately, Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing named Aptos among the layer-1 networks best prepared for post-quantum security. The board cited Aptos’ account model, which lets users rotate to quantum-resistant keys without having to move assets.
On adoption timing, Xiao said individuals are likely to move faster than businesses because enterprise rollout requires compliance and reporting work. She said six months of stable mainnet performance with meaningful transaction volume would be the kind of evidence institutions need to shorten internal approval cycles and begin integrating the feature.