What are the current financial markets still using? Opaque systems, high costs, and layers of intermediary dependence. Dusk aims to change this situation.

This is a blockchain built specifically for institutional-level finance, with a straightforward core mission: to bring real financial processes onto the chain, while ensuring no compromises on regulatory compliance, transaction privacy, or execution efficiency.

**What can be done on this chain?**

First, institutional-grade compliant finance. The traditional approach is to launch first and then patch compliance retroactively. Dusk does the opposite—it directly supports real regulatory requirements at the protocol layer. Imagine financial institutions issuing and managing financial instruments directly on the chain, where KYC/AML, disclosure rules, and reporting obligations are no longer nightmares of manual review after the fact, but are automatically enforced protocol logic.

Second, privacy-friendly assets and transactions. Users’ balances and transfer records are not publicly exposed to the entire network like traditional public chains, but are kept confidential and verifiable. This is crucial for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

Finally, developer-friendly. Use familiar EVM and Solidity toolchains, while being able to directly invoke native privacy and compliance primitives to build applications. This means developers don’t have to choose between compatibility and innovation.

**How is the technology implemented?**

Dusk is not a single innovation but a system-level combination of technologies.

Zero-knowledge proofs are used to protect transaction and identity privacy while maintaining verifiability—standard for privacy chains, but Dusk tightly integrates this with compliance engines. The on-chain compliance engine is key; it natively supports frameworks like MiCA, MiFID II, DLT pilot regulations, and even standards similar to GDPR.

The consensus layer uses a succinct proof-based PoS mechanism, achieving fast finality and efficient settlement—essential for financial-grade applications that can’t wait, they need speed.

The architecture adopts a modular design. DuskDS handles data layer and clearing/settlement, DuskEVM manages EVM execution. This decoupled design is both flexible and secure, allowing different components to be optimized independently.

**Compare with the current situation**

Most real financial markets still operate within centralized systems:
- Opaque: Participants cannot see the full market information and transaction flows
- High costs: Intermediary fees, settlement fees, compliance review costs pile up
- Heavy reliance on intermediaries: High coordination costs among brokers, clearinghouses, regulators

Dusk’s goal is to natively bring these processes onto the chain—four words: Regulatory compliance, transaction privacy, execution speed, finality—all are essential.

What can institutions do on Dusk? Issue and manage financial instruments directly at the protocol layer, without filling out forms for intermediary approval; automatically perform all disclosures and compliance checks, eliminating manual reviews from workflows; no longer layered dependence on intermediaries, interact directly with market participants.

This is not a chain born for hype. Its positioning is clear: privacy-friendly, natively compliant, infrastructure for institutional-grade finance. Its purpose is to bring real financial processes onto the chain, increase market transparency, and genuinely reduce costs.