The conflict between blockchain and traditional finance has a long history—one side pursues free flow of assets, while the other strictly adheres to compliance boundaries. But recently, a project has been trying to reconcile this contradiction by building a tangible product that creates a middle path.

This project is called Dusk. Its core idea is to achieve a dual-driven approach of "compliance + privacy" through three progressive product solutions. Let’s start with the first product—DuskTrade.

DuskTrade is comparable to on-chain RWA platforms, but its selling point is compliance endorsement. Partners hold licenses such as the Dutch MTF (Multilateral Trading Facility), brokerage licenses, and European crowdfunding licenses, effectively giving on-chain assets a "legal passport." Currently, the platform has tokenized €300 million worth of securities, ranging from stocks to bonds, all tradable within a compliant framework. The waitlist opened in January, allowing institutions to lock in positions early and avoid secondary market premiums later.

The second product is DuskEVM, which is a tool layer aimed at developers. EVM compatibility means developers can write contracts in the familiar Solidity language and deploy and settle them directly on Dusk’s Layer 1, with zero cross-chain costs. More importantly, it adopts a modular architecture—separating the settlement layer from the application layer—allowing institutions to customize deployment based on their needs without reconstructing the entire underlying infrastructure for compliance.

The third product is called Hedger, which is the real cutting-edge technology. It uses zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption to handle privacy issues—transaction amounts and participant identities are encrypted throughout, but regulators can verify the flow at any time during audits. This approach protects privacy while remaining compliant. The alpha version is live, and institutions can test it now. For example, after private equity tokens are issued, LPs can view their earnings details without exposing the overall investment portfolio information.

Why is this approach worth paying attention to? On one hand, the global RWA market is expected to surpass $10 trillion by 2026. DuskTrade positions itself as the compliance gateway to this market, potentially replicating some of the market dominance that certain DEXs have achieved in DeFi. On the other hand, its modular design combined with full-license partnerships creates a technological barrier that makes it difficult for latecomers to catch up quickly.

From a product logic perspective, Dusk is not about overthrowing traditional finance but about becoming the "on-chain compliance steward" of traditional finance. This positioning might be more easily accepted by institutions than pure decentralization. What do you think of this方案?