Dusk Network kicks off 2026 with a big move—DuskEVM mainnet officially went live in the second week of January. This Layer 1 blockchain project, founded in 2018, has finally transitioned from researching privacy technology in the lab to the stage of institutional-grade applications.

The project's setup is somewhat unique. From the very beginning, it was designed for regulated financial scenarios, with built-in zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption—powerful tools that can protect transaction privacy while providing auditable interfaces. In simple terms, it enables private transactions that regulators can trust.

The Hedger protocol is a key part of this system. It integrates privacy capabilities directly into the EVM environment, allowing developers to deploy Solidity contracts without any code modifications, automatically gaining compliant privacy features. This significantly lowers the barrier for teams looking to migrate quickly from the Ethereum ecosystem.

Another advantage of DuskEVM is that it inherits the finality and privacy features of the native consensus layer, greatly reducing the risks associated with institutional migration. Several projects have already announced their deployment on the mainnet, signaling initial excitement in the ecosystem.

More concretely, DuskTrade is about to go live. Dusk has partnered with the Dutch licensed exchange NPEX to bring over €300 million worth of tokenized securities onto the chain, with a comprehensive KYC/AML framework, offering on-chain trading and custody services. This is a rare real-world asset (RWA) case in the industry.

The $DUSK token itself handles gas fees, staking, and governance functions. As the EVM ecosystem expands and real assets continue to come on-chain, demand for DUSK will only grow. RWA has become the main battleground for institutional entry, and Dusk’s positioning as a compliant, privacy-preserving platform is both scarce and precise. 2026 will be a critical period to see if $DUSK can turn these advantages into real value.