In January 2026, Dusk Network reached a milestone moment: the DuskEVM mainnet officially launched. This EVM-compatible application layer not only inherits Ethereum's developer-friendliness but also injects the core advantage of Dusk Layer 1—compliant privacy. This means developers can use familiar Solidity tools to build privacy-protecting DeFi and RWA applications without worrying about data leaks or regulatory compliance issues. The launch of DuskEVM marks a comprehensive transformation of Dusk from privacy infrastructure to a developer ecosystem.
Traditional EVM chains like Ethereum or Polygon, while mature, expose sensitive financial data due to their public ledger design. DuskEVM addresses this pain point through Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP): every smart contract execution defaults to applying ZKP, hiding transaction details from off-chain observers while remaining verifiable to authorized parties (such as regulators). This technology is based on a variant of zk-SNARKs and achieves privacy without sacrificing performance. For example, a lending protocol on-chain can keep the borrower's identity confidential, while the lender can still assess credit risk; or in RWA tokenization, asset valuation data is encrypted and stored to avoid market manipulation.
The modular architecture of Dusk is the technical cornerstone of DuskEVM. The consensus layer handles network security, the execution layer focuses on contract execution, and the privacy layer independently manages cryptographic computations. This separation design ensures high TPS (transactions per second), far exceeding many Layer 1 chains. At the same time, DuskEVM supports low Gas fees, using $DUSK tokens for settlement, and the staking mechanism incentivizes node participation. The developer migration guide shows that porting from Ethereum projects only requires adjusting privacy interfaces, greatly lowering the barrier to entry. Community feedback indicates that several DeFi projects are already running on the testnet, including privacy DEXs and yield farms.
The deep integration of the Hedger protocol with DuskEVM further enhances privacy levels. The Alpha version of Hedger introduces homomorphic encryption (HE), allowing computations on encrypted data without decryption. This is revolutionary in financial applications: for example, when calculating multi-party investment returns, each party's data remains undisclosed; or in insurance protocols, claims assessments are based on encrypted health records. Hedger's open-source code allows developers to customize privacy levels, supporting everything from simple masking to advanced confidential computing. Future iterations will integrate more cryptographic primitives, such as fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), to address complex scenarios.
The actual value of DuskEVM is reflected in the RWA ecosystem. The DuskTrade platform, in collaboration with NPEX, will serve as the first flagship application of DuskEVM. NPEX holds an EU license and has tokenized over 300 million euros of securities, including bonds and fund shares. The DuskTrade waitlist will open in January, allowing users to trade these assets on-chain, achieving instant settlement and fragmented investment. Developers can extend DuskTrade on DuskEVM, building automated strategies such as arbitrage bots or liquidity providers. The privacy framework ensures transaction anonymity while complying with KYC/AML requirements, attracting institutional capital inflow.
The governance mechanism of the Dusk ecosystem strengthens the sustainability of DuskEVM. Through DAO, $DUSK holders can vote to upgrade EVM parameters, such as increasing opcode support or optimizing the Gas model. In a Binance AMA, the team revealed that DuskEVM will support cross-chain bridging, connecting to the Cosmos or Polkadot ecosystem, further expanding RWA liquidity. Video footage shows that Dusk has collaborated with multiple VCs, with a developer fund reaching millions of dollars for bounties and hackathons.
In terms of challenges, DuskEVM must face the trade-offs of EVM compatibility: privacy enhancements may increase computational overhead. The team alleviates this issue by optimizing ZKP circuits and hardware acceleration (such as GPU support). At the same time, educating developers is key; Dusk provides SDKs, documentation, and online courses to help newcomers get started.
Overall, DuskEVM is not a simple copy but an innovative fusion. It provides a secure sandbox for compliant DeFi, bringing RWA from concept to reality. As more applications go live, DuskEVM will become the preferred blockchain for institutions, driving trillions of assets on-chain. Dusk's vision is clear: to build a privacy-first, compliance-driven financial future.
