Last December, Dusk completed a critical upgrade to the Layer 1 network DuskDS. This was not just simple performance tuning but a "major overhaul" of the entire ecosystem architecture—unifying data availability, modular design, and a brand-new mainnet routing path. The underlying logic is clear: using technological innovation to solve the "bottleneck" issues that privacy public chains face when moving from niche applications to large-scale adoption.

Let's start with the architecture. Dusk divides the network into two layers: the lower DuskDS responsible for settlement, and the upper DuskEVM responsible for execution. The division of labor is very clear. The underlying layer is written in Rust, employing PoS consensus combined with the Blind Bid protocol to prevent MEV, ensuring security and decentralization; the top layer is EVM-compatible, allowing smart contract developers to have virtually zero learning curve. This layered design is quite common in the wave of modularization, but Dusk's uniqueness lies in its deep optimization for privacy computing.

The most interesting improvement is the solution to the bootstrapping problem. Think about it—traditional zero-knowledge proof public chains have a notorious challenge: new nodes need to quickly catch up with the network state, verifying historical transactions one by one, which can take a long time. Dusk optimizes circuit proof efficiency using PLOOKUP technology, introduces a transaction proof delegation mechanism, so new nodes no longer need to verify each transaction individually, reducing synchronization time to just minutes. This is a substantial improvement.

The underlying tech stack has also been heavily developed. The self-developed ZeroCaf elliptic curve library and Poseidon hashing algorithm further enhance the efficiency and security of privacy computations. These seemingly minor details are crucial for public chains aiming to support institutional-grade applications. Every optimization relates to whether they can build a real technological moat in the RWA track. With privacy compliance in place and performance up to par, institutional money will feel confident to come in.