This is the feature that really sets Dusk apart. Basically, it means you can keep your financial info private by default, but when you actually need to—let the right people check specific details. Think regulators, auditors, or anyone else who’s legally allowed to see what’s going on. It’s a lifesaver for regulated finance, where you can’t just hide everything, but you definitely don’t want your business out in the open, either.
Here’s the problem with most blockchains: they’re either wide open or locked down tight. If everything’s public, then all your transactions, balances, and who you’re dealing with are laid bare—not great if you're a big institution. But if everything’s hidden, regulators get nervous because they can’t see what’s happening. Dusk threads the needle with selective disclosure. Instead of handing over raw data, you just give cryptographic proof that what you claim is true. That’s it—no oversharing.
Under the hood, Dusk uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). These are clever little math tricks that let you prove something’s legit—maybe that a transaction follows the rules, or that you’re eligible to hold a particular asset—without actually exposing your private info. So, you can show you’re authorized without spilling your name or personal details. Pretty slick.
Dusk doesn’t just leave it open-ended, either. The right to request these proofs is spelled out and permissioned. So, issuers, regulators, or auditors can ask for specific evidence, but they don’t get to snoop around wherever they want. They only see what the law says they’re allowed to see. This keeps your data exposure to a minimum and keeps Dusk in line with privacy laws like GDPR.
There’s more—selective disclosure makes post-trade checks and investigations easier, too. If a regulator needs to make sure everyone played by the rules, Dusk lets them verify compliance cryptographically, without having to dig through the entire transaction history. It’s faster, more private, and a lot less painful than the usual audit grind.
And for the market itself, this setup helps level the playing field. Public blockchains can be a goldmine for front-runners and data miners, because everything’s out in the open. Dusk locks down sensitive info, so you can’t exploit what you can’t see, but rules still get enforced.
Bottom line? Selective disclosure is how Dusk manages to be both private and fully compliant. It turns transparency from an all-or-nothing sledgehammer into a precisely controlled tool. That’s how on-chain finance finally becomes practical—and safe—for regulated industries.
