Dusk is designed as a privacy first blockchain where confidentiality and auditability exist together at the protocol level
Its architecture begins with a strong cryptographic foundation that enables private transactions while still allowing the network to verify correctness and prevent fraud
At the core of Dusk are zero knowledge friendly cryptographic primitives
These primitives are chosen to make privacy efficient and practical at scale
They allow complex financial logic to be verified without exposing balances identities or transactional relationships
This approach ensures that sensitive financial data is never published to the public ledger while the integrity of the system remains intact
A central element of this foundation is the use of zero knowledge proofs
Zero knowledge proofs allow a participant to prove that a transaction is valid without revealing the underlying data
On Dusk this is not an add on feature but a native capability woven into the base transaction model
This makes privacy predictable reliable and composable across the entire network
The Phoenix transaction model represents Dusk interpretation of a private UTXO system
Instead of accounts with public balances Phoenix uses notes that represent ownership
Each note is created consumed and verified using zero knowledge proofs
Ownership can be proven without revealing who owns the note or what value it contains
This prevents transaction graph analysis and balance tracking which are common weaknesses of transparent blockchains
Phoenix also introduces selective disclosure through view keys
This allows users institutions or issuers to reveal transaction details to auditors regulators or counterparties when required
The important distinction is that disclosure is optional controlled and cryptographically enforced
Privacy is the default but compliance remains possible
To support Phoenix Dusk uses a Merkle based data structure that records commitments to all notes
This structure allows efficient proof generation and verification
It also enables the network to prevent double spending without learning anything about the transaction itself
The Merkle design is optimized for long term scalability and repeated zero knowledge verification
Together these components form the privacy engine of Dusk
They enable confidential settlement programmable compliance and institution grade privacy
Rather than treating privacy as an obstacle Dusk treats it as a foundational requirement for real financial systems
