Founded in 2018, @Dusk started with a clear idea in mind: build a layer-1 blockchain that regulated finance could actually use without giving up privacy. The team focused early on combining confidentiality with auditability, which is why Dusk has always leaned toward institutional use cases instead of hype cycles. The network moved from research to reality over the following years, with mainnet going live in stages and the token becoming tradable in 2019. DUSK has since been listed on major global exchanges, giving it steady liquidity, and over time its price has moved through multiple market cycles while maintaining consistent daily trading volume that often reaches into the tens of millions during active periods.
What makes Dusk different is how it’s built. It uses a modular architecture designed for privacy-preserving smart contracts, compliant DeFi, and tokenized real-world assets. Applications can keep sensitive data private while still allowing verification when regulators or auditors need access. The DUSK token is used for staking, fees, and securing the network, with a fixed supply designed to support long-term participation rather than short-term inflation. While Dusk isn’t a typical DeFi TVL leaderboard project, on-chain activity, active addresses, and institutional pilots show a growing ecosystem focused on real financial workflows instead of speculative farming.
Early funding came from private and public token sales around 2018, backed by crypto-native investors and exchange-linked funds that understood the value of privacy-first compliance. Years later, the direction hasn’t changed. Dusk is not trying to be everything to everyone. It’s quietly building infrastructure where real assets, real institutions, and real regulations meet blockchain in a way that actually works.
