In the 2021 crypto boom, everyone was trying to make the fastest blockchain. Solana, Avalanche, and Luna were all trying to process the most transactions each second. But in 2026, the focus has changed. Now, it's all about privacy, especially using Zero-Knowledge tech.
Even though a lot of new privacy blockchains and ZK-Rollups with big funding have come out, Dusk Network has quietly become a strong contender. It's doing better than some much bigger projects. To see why Dusk's price is jumping in January, we need to look at what its competitors are doing, mainly Aleo and Midnight.
Here's a look at the situation:
1. Aleo (The VC Giant):
Aleo got almost $300 million from big investors. It’s technically amazing, but it has the problem that many venture-backed chains have. It started with a really high total value. This can be a problem for new investors because the early investors are already making huge profits and might sell off their tokens when they get the chance, leaving newer investors with losses. Right now, Aleo is a general-purpose privacy chain that is still trying to find a specific use.
2. Midnight:
Midnight, which is backed by IOG (Cardano), promises privacy for smart contracts. But, not like other chains that work with Ethereum, it depends on the Cardano system. This limits the number of developers who can work on it and how easily people can trade its tokens. It doesn't have a simple way to connect to the large amount of money in Ethereum's DeFi world, and it mostly relies on Cardano's slow governance.
Dusk's Different Way:
Dusk is doing things differently. Instead of just creating a privacy chain and hoping people find a use for it, they saw that regulatory compliance for securities was a big issue and made a chain specifically to solve that. This is a Vertical Integration strategy. Dusk even bought part of the NPEX Stock Exchange to get its own clients. They already have assets worth over €300 million waiting to be put on their system, so they don't have to ask developers to create apps.
The Compliance Edge:
This is what really sets Dusk apart right now. Other privacy projects, like Monero and Aztec, focus on hiding everything. But because of this, companies like BlackRock and JP Morgan can't use them because they have to follow strict Anti-Money Laundering rules. Dusk is the only chain that offers Auditability. With Dusk's Citadel protocol, users can show that they're following the rules without giving away their identity.
Tokenomics: The Fair Launch Bonus:
Dusk has been around for a while, so the early investors already sold their tokens. Most of the tokens are now held by people who support the project for the long term, not venture capitalists who are just looking to cash out. The newer ZK chains that came out in 2025 and 2026 have a lot of their tokens held by a few people, which can be risky. People are starting to realize that buying Dusk at its current value is a better bet than buying a new venture capital chain at a much higher price.
The Choice:
The ZK Wars won't be won by the chain with the most money or the most developers. It will be won by the chain that brings real-world value to the blockchain first. While Aleo and Midnight are trying to get developers to use their platforms, Dusk is working on bringing real stock exchanges onto its system. In the business world, things like licenses and compliance are what really matter. And right now, Dusk is the only one working on these boring but important things.
