I’ve been watching traditional finance struggle with blockchain adoption for years. The problem isn’t technology it’s compliance. Banks and institutions need privacy, but regulators demand transparency. That contradiction has kept trillions in assets off-chain.
Dusk is built specifically to solve this. It’s a Layer 1 blockchain designed for regulated financial markets, focusing on real-world asset tokenization. When I look at what they’re doing, it’s clear they’re not trying to bypass regulations they’re building infrastructure that works within them.
The core tech is zero-knowledge proofs, specifically PLONK. This lets institutions verify transactions without exposing sensitive data. I can prove something happened without revealing what actually happened. That’s massive for securities trading, where confidentiality isn’t optional.
They’re using something called Segregated Byzantine Agreement for consensus. It’s a modified proof-of-stake that combines cryptographic sortition with reputation scoring to select honest validators. The result is fast finality crucial when you’re settling financial transactions.
What makes Dusk different is their compliance-first approach. They’ve got partnerships with NPEX, a Dutch regulated exchange, and Quantoz for MiCA-compliant stablecoins. They’re not waiting for regulators to catch up they’re already meeting EU requirements like MiFID II and the DLT Pilot Regime.
The mainnet just went live in January 2025 after six years of development. It includes Citadel, their zero-knowledge KYC solution, and XSC smart contracts for automated compliance.
$DUSK powers everything: transaction fees, staking rewards, and governance. With tokenized securities being a multi-trillion dollar opportunity, I’m watching how institutions respond to a blockchain that actually speaks their regulatory language.
Over 84% of holders have kept their tokens for more than a year. That retention tells me people see the long-term vision here