Since the advent of blockchain, DeFi and traditional finance have always been separated by a huge chasm.

On the surface, blockchain's clearing efficiency and transparency are unbeatable. But reality is more complex—hundreds of trillions of dollars in institutional funds worldwide are still hesitant to enter on a large scale. Where is the bottleneck? The contradiction is sharp: the absolute transparency of public chains directly conflicts with financial institutions' need to protect trade secrets. Conversely, those highly anonymous privacy coins violate the increasingly strict global regulatory trends. Both sides are blocked.

This is the so-called "last mile dilemma."

As early as 2018, Dusk Foundation identified this core pain point. As a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for compliance and privacy, it is not just about stacking technology but starting from the underlying protocol layer, aiming to provide a real solution to this dilemma. Dusk's goal is straightforward: to retain the advantages of decentralization while also meeting the dual requirements of business privacy protection and regulatory compliance.

The core logic is actually dialectical—privacy is a right, compliance is an obligation. In Dusk's design, privacy protection is no longer a black box used to evade regulation but a necessary tool to maintain fair market competition. For institutions, transaction strategies, position sizes, and fund flows are all trade secrets; protecting them essentially means safeguarding the healthy operation of the market.