Emanuele jumped into the Dusketeers chat to answer more questions and provide additional context around our direction, recent changes, and plan.
This summary captures the main highlights from the conversation.
The “Pivot” to EVM L2, Why Now?
Q: Why are we switching to EVM now?
A: The “pivot” was triggered by the acceleration in tokenization and RWA adoption, particularly after BUIDL and growing institutional demand. The asset managers and exchanges we work with already use EVM or would require expensive, custom integration otherwise.
For example: Bitmart spent months building parallel infrastructure to integrate our wallet in compliance with their internal operations, including developing a custom archiver to prepare transactions according to their compliance procedures.
Instead of spending millions on boilerplate infra, we made a pragmatic choice to delegate execution to an EVM L2. This:
- Reduces dev cost and time dramatically.
- Leverages existing tooling (MetaMask, Hardhat, etc).
- Focus resources on product & business development.
We maintain control of the settlement layer (L1) while gaining ecosystem-wide compatibility.
On Market Cycles and Visibility
Q: I understand the constraints, but this is crypto, some say you need to be flashier to stay relevant. If the market reverses again, we might get left behind. Aren’t you worried?
A: That’s a valid concern. But our priority is delivery.
Instead of chasing short-term attention, we’re focused on executing a concrete plan:
- Secure AAA government bonds and high-yield bank assets.
- Integrate low-risk assets (e.g. MMFs) via Asset Managers we’re already engaged with
- Onboard assets from a number of venues.
- Launch dApps backed by the proper regulatory licenses.
- Issue yield-bearing tokens backed by real-world securities.
The shift to the EVM-compatible application layer allows us to accelerate product rollout and faster integrations.
Access to Institutional Assets
Q: Once DuskEVM is live, could we onboard tokenized assets from other institutions (e.g. Deutsche Bank)?
A: We’re actively working on this. Our value proposition is simple, to issue assets on-chain legally. For that you need:
- A custody/brokerage license (to hold assets) - secured.
- An MTF/RM license (for trading) - secured.
- A DLT-TSS license (for on-chain settlement) - in progress.
Chains like ZKSync, Polygon, or Ethereum lack these licenses, and can’t extend them to the apps built on top.
Large institutions like Blackrock or Vanguard may build isolated applications on those chains, but:
- KYC, AML, ACL and other regulatory checks/compliance data is not shared among apps.
- Assets aren’t easily interoperable.
- No shared composability.
With Dusk:
- NPEX’s license extends to the entire chain.
- All apps access licensed assets directly.
- One-time KYC grants access to the full ecosystem.
- Composable applications across all (regulated) assets.
- Access to MMFs, government bonds, and high-yield securities, all in one ecosystem.
This regulatory and technical composability is unique to Dusk.
Because of NPEX’s licensing and regulatory clearance, we can onboard nearly any asset class (excluding derivatives) and enable compliant DeFi across the ecosystem.
Native Issuance
Q: Is native issuance of assets still on the roadmap?
A: Yes, it remains a core component of our strategy and it is among our priority to obtain the DLT-TSS license.
Why Dusk is Unique in RWA
Q: Can’t Polygon/ZKsync do the same with ZK & Hyperchains?
A: No. They don’t have licenses. We do.
MTF, Broker, and later the DLT-TSS licenses allow Dusk to:
- Custody real assets
- Extend licenses to all Dusk applications
- Perform KYC once, with full access thereafter.
- Build composable regulated applications.
No other platform combines regulatory licensing with technical infrastructure like Dusk.
Finality & L2 Validity Proofs
Q: Optimism allows fault challenges with a 7-day window. Is DuskEVM also subject to this kind of delay?
A: No, one of our improvements is immediate finality.
We plan to to include Canon’s MIPS proofs to let Rusk’s pre-verifier reject incorrect state roots before posting.
Why Move Piecrust to L2?
Q: Isn’t moving Piecrust to L2 introducing more complexity?
A: This transition will happen later and is not a priority right now. That said, the benefits of moving Piecrust, Dusk’s privacy-friendly virtual machine, to a dedicated execution layer include:
- Avoiding regulatory hurdles.
- Expanding the anonymity set.
- Unifying $DUSK liquidity across layers.
Why Not Just Raise More Capital?
Q: Couldn’t we raise more capital to solve integration challenges?
A: We prefer to use capital for product development, not for redundant infrastructure. Spending significant resources to satisfy every venue’s custom infra demands is neither sustainable nor efficient.
Infrastructure vs. Applications
Q: Is infrastructure no longer the priority?
A: We’ve already built world-class infrastructure, more than most better-funded projects. Now it’s time to ship applications and drive adoption. That’s how we win.
Team Expansion
Q: Are You Expanding the Team?
A: No, we are rightly sized to meet the product and business development challenges and In fact, we are optimizing costs. 80% of our expenses go into development and it is now time to reallocate part of that budget toward business development and user experience.
Third-Party Help With EVM L2
Q: Is it possible to disclose what organization is helping with the development of DuskEVM?
A: Lumos. They are the same team that audited Kadcast. They are assisting short-term, and we will transition knowledge back in-house for further optimization.
Competition & Timing
Q: Isn’t it risky to switch now while competitors may move faster?
A: We see little direct competition. Our advantage is the NPEX + Dusk combination. No one else offers licensed issuance, trading, and composability across apps. We don’t need to out-market others: we need to deliver and scale adoption.
Legal Support
Q: A while back you mentioned working with a law firm for the. Are they still involved?
A: Yes, we continue to work closely with Norton Rose Fulbright and Watson Law alongside other legal teams for more focused and specific requests.
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