Dusk's interesting aspect is that — since its inception in 2018 — it has not followed the trend.

At that time, the blockchain community chased whatever was hot, either stacking performance metrics, promoting absolute decentralization, or touting ultimate privacy. But Dusk went against the grain, directly targeting the regulated institutional finance sector.

In simple terms, it is a Layer 1 tailored for large institutions. What does it do? It provides infrastructure for compliant DeFi, real-world asset tokenization (RWA), and enterprise applications. It uses privacy technology to protect data while allowing regulators to audit — this is true balance.

How does it achieve this? Dusk employs two key technologies: zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption. Sensitive information during transactions (transfer amounts, addresses, etc.) is hidden, but authorized auditors can see what they need. It sounds a bit like magic, but in reality, it solves the most headache-inducing problem for institutions: protecting business secrets while passing KYC/AML checks.

Comparing it to existing solutions makes it even clearer. Ordinary public chains make all transactions transparent on-chain, exposing financial data; pure privacy chains, on the other hand, become a regulatory gray area. Dusk has carved out a path between the two, making it especially suitable for high-value assets like tokenized securities, private equity funds, and corporate bonds.

As we enter 2026, DuskEVM mainnet has launched. What does this mean? Developers can now write smart contracts directly in Solidity, and run them on this chain without changing code. The application layer is fully compatible with EVM, opening up the ecosystem’s growth potential.

This development seems crucial — privacy mechanisms are in place, regulatory frameworks are established, and the developer experience now matches mainstream solutions. On-chain institutional finance might really need to be reconsidered.