Examples perform asynchronous encrypted live migration of virtual machines (VM) from a source host to a destination host. The encryption of the memory blocks of the VM is performed optionally before a request for live migration is received or after said request. The more resource intensive decryption of the memory blocks of the VM is performed by the destination host in a resource efficient manner, reducing the downtime apparent to users. Some examples contemplate decrypting memory blocks of the transmitted VM on-demand and opportunistically, according to a pre-determined rate, or in accordance with parameters established by a user.