Most blockchains force developers to compromise. Either you get flexibility without compliance, or security without usability. Dusk was designed to remove that trade-off by introducing a modular architecture that cleanly separates execution from settlement—without exposing complexity to builders.
At the core of Dusk’s design are two layers working in harmony:
DuskEVM, where applications are built, and DuskDS, where trust is finalized.
🔹 DuskEVM: Where Builders Create
DuskEVM is the primary execution layer where most developers deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications. It is fully EVM-compatible, meaning builders can use familiar languages like Solidity or Vyper, along with standard tools such as Hardhat, Foundry, and existing Ethereum libraries.
This makes Dusk immediately accessible to Ethereum developers—no steep learning curve, no ecosystem reset.
Typical use cases on DuskEVM include:
DeFi protocols (AMMs, lending, derivatives)
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs)
NFTs, gaming, and consumer dApps
DUSK acts as the native gas token, while privacy and compliance guarantees are handled seamlessly underneath by the settlement layer.
🔹 DuskDS: Settlement, Privacy, and Finality
While DuskEVM handles execution, DuskDS operates quietly beneath the surface as the settlement and data layer. It is responsible for:
Consensus and finality
Data availability
Native transaction models
Privacy and compliance features
As a builder, you don’t need to interact with DuskDS directly in most cases—but your applications benefit from its guarantees by default.
This separation allows Dusk to offer privacy-preserving compliance, something traditional EVM chains struggle to achieve.
🌍 Why This Architecture Matters
By decoupling execution from settlement, Dusk enables:
Scalable application development
Strong regulatory alignment
Institutional-grade trust guarantees
Instead of forcing developers to think about compliance, Dusk makes it invisible but enforced—a critical requirement for the next wave of onchain finance.
Dusk isn’t just developer-friendly.
It’s finance-ready.