Origins & Conceptual Phase (2018 - 2019)
Foundation: Dusk Network was founded by Emanuele Francioni and a team with backgrounds in fintech, cryptography, and blockchain. The core idea emerged from the need for a blockchain that could handle private, compliant financial transactions—specifically for capital markets and securities.
Key Innovation: The whitepaper introduced a novel consensus mechanism called Siec (Secure Proof of Stake), designed to combine staking with zero-knowledge cryptography for privacy and scalability.
Initial Coin Offering (ICO): DUSK tokens were first sold to the public in late 2018, raising funds to develop the protocol during a very bearish crypto market.
2. Development & Testnet Phase (2020 - 2022)
This period was focused on building core technology away from market hype.
Testnet Releases: Sequential testnets (starting with "Dusk 0") were launched to stress-test the protocol's three-layer architecture (Consensus, Blockchain, Applications).
Partnerships: Strategic partnerships were formed, notably with Hyperledger and various European fintech entities, emphasizing the "regulated DeFi" and institutional narrative.
XSC (Standardized Smart Contracts): The team developed their own privacy-centric smart contract language, a key differentiator from Ethereum-based chains.
Market Performance Context: DUSK, like most altcoins, experienced the massive bull run of 2021, reaching its All-Time High (ATH) of approximately $0.85 - $0.90 in November 2021. This peak coincided with the broader crypto market frenzy.
3. Mainnet Launch & "Build" Phase (2023 - Present)
Mainnet Dawn: The Dusk Mainnet officially went live in late 2023, marking the transition from a test network to a live, operational blockchain.
Shift in Narrative: Post-launch, the focus shifted strongly towards Real-World Assets (RWA) and institutional adoption. The narrative became: "A blockchain for tokenizing private securities and bonds."
Citadel & Incentivized Testnets: The launch of the Citadel testnet allowed developers to build and test confidential dApps, with reward programs to bootstrap the ecosystem.
Market Performance Context: Following its ATH, DUSK entered a prolonged bear market along with the rest of crypto, bottoming in late 2022/early 2023. Its price action since has been influenced by mainnet launch progress and the growing market interest in the RWA sector.
Key Historical Price Points & Cycles
(Note: Prices are approximate from historical data.)
All-Time High (ATH): ~ $0.89 (November 2021) – Peak of the last bull market.
2.Cycle Low: ~ $0.07 (June 2023) – Bear market trough before mainnet anticipation.
3.Notable Rally: Early 2024 saw a significant surge (back towards ~$0.50) driven by:
4.Mainnet launch success.
5.Growing hype around $BTC Bitcoin ETFs and the RWA narrative.
General altcoin recovery
