This week’s team hangout with Federico (Software Engineer at Dusk) focused on the latest DuskEVM progress, including the first successful bridge transaction between DuskDS and DuskEVM, and the ongoing work on withdrawal flow and web wallet integration.
Federico also shared insights into adapting Optimism’s architecture for Dusk’s modular design, discussed bridge security and decentralization plans, and reflected on his journey from academic research in Bitcoin to building the infrastructure powering Dusk today.
You can find a breakdown of the key questions and answers below 
Q1: Can you tell us a bit about your background and what you’re currently working on at Dusk?
- Federico is a computer scientist with nearly a decade of experience in blockchain.
- After completing his Master’s in Computer Science, he began a PhD focused on Bitcoin network security, specifically analyzing botnets and the Bitcoin network layer.
- Following his PhD, he worked briefly for a blockchain company in Ireland, where he gained hands-on experience with Ethereum, consensus protocols, and the broader blockchain ecosystem, a phase he described as key to understanding where his skills could fit in the industry.
- Federico joined Dusk around three years ago, initially to review and improve the consensus protocol, which, although considered complete at the time, he found multiple ways to enhance. His findings led to significant refinements in Dusk’s consensus layer during his first year.
- Today, his role blends technical oversight and research. While he occasionally codes, his main focus is on analyzing systems, identifying design issues, formalizing improvements, and guiding development.
- In recent months, he’s been working closely with the team on DuskEVM and the transition toward the Optimism-based architecture of DuskEVM, studying the protocol, verifying implementations, and refining areas that needed adjustment.
Q2: How did you first get into blockchain? Were you already involved in crypto before your PhD?
- Before discovering the field, his focus was on low-level cybersecurity, researching malware, virtual machine security, rootkits, and botnets.
- He was initially set to pursue a PhD in France at Bell Labs, but around that time, his mentor connected him with a colleague in Barcelona who was seeking a PhD student to work on blockchain and IoT.
- At that point, Federico admitted he had no prior knowledge of blockchain, but decided to take the leap.
Q3: How did you first hear about Dusk, and what made you decide to join?
- After his previous company shut down, he was exploring new opportunities and interviewing with major tech names like Google and Protocol Labs (IPFS).
- Around that time, Marta, who studied at the same university where he completed his PhD, reached out knowing Dusk was looking for someone to review the consensus protocol.
- She introduced him to Emanuele, and they quickly connected, both professionally and personally, as they were from the same hometown.
- Compared to the other companies he was interviewing with, Dusk’s vision and project felt more exciting, even without the big-name reputation.
Q4: Was DuskEVM your first time working with an EVM chain, and what have been some of the main challenges so far?
- Federico explained that this wasn’t his very first time working with EVM chains, but it was his first time working hands-on with Layer 2 systems.
- In his previous company, he had interacted with Ethereum networks indirectly, using tools that connected to EVM environments..
- This gave him the chance to study the Optimism protocol in depth, from documentation to source code, which he described as both challenging and fascinating due to its complexity.
- One of the biggest technical hurdles has been translating between DuskDS and DuskEVM, ensuring the two layers communicate properly despite their structural differences.
- The team began by cherry-picking essential Optimism components to move quickly, leaving room to expand later once the foundation proved stable.
- A key difficulty was that Dusk’s architecture is fundamentally different from Ethereum’s, different consensus, different VM, and different transaction models, so the team had to make Dusk “look like Ethereum” to the EVM layer.
- Initially, the plan was to use OP’s “ALDA” approach, where Layer 1 serves only as data storage for L2 blocks, but the team decided against it since it was too centralized and less secure.
- Instead, they implemented blob transactions, the same mechanism Ethereum uses for storing L2 block data, adapting it for Dusk’s network.
- This required mimicking every detail, blocks, transactions, addresses, signatures, and transforming them into a format Optimism could interpret, a process Federico called “tricky but rewarding” given the intricate codebase involved.
Q5: Can you share an update on DuskEVM’s current progress and testing?
- Federico shared that the team successfully executed the first full deposit transaction on devnet between DuskDS and DuskEVM, marking the first live bridge transfer between the two networks.
- This means funds can now be moved from the Layer 1 Dusk network to the DuskEVM Layer 2, and users can deploy contracts, send transactions, and interact with applications on L2.
- The deposit process was the hardest part, due to the architectural mismatch between Dusk and Ethereum, which required extensive trial and error to make Optimism’s contracts recognize Dusk’s structure. The withdrawal process is expected to be simpler.
- This flow is being integrated with the web wallet, so deposits and withdrawals will both be accessible through the same interface.
Q6: How are you approaching bridge security? Can you be sure there are no risks?
- No system is 100% secure. Federico stressed that with bridges in particular, the goal is to minimize known attack surfaces and continuously harden design and implementation.
- The team has already baked security into the design, and multiple engineers are reviewing both efficiency and security across components.
- For the initial phase, parts of the flow are intentionally centralized (via Dusk-run services) to reduce complexity and ship a reliable MVP faster.
- The next phase focuses on decentralization (e.g., proofs of inclusion and additional verification on L1), which raises security assurances but also increases complexity.
Q7: Looking ahead, what excites you most about Dusk?
- Federico described himself as more of a technician than a DeFi enthusiast, admitting he’s never traded before and doesn’t usually follow markets.
- What excites him, however, is seeing the technology he’s helped build become tangible and usable, enabling anyone, even non-traders, to interact with assets directly.
- He highlighted how Dusk simplifies financial interactions, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and intermediaries, and giving users full control through straightforward tools.
- For him, the most rewarding moment will be when all the network’s components come together, DuskDS, DuskEVM, and the ecosystem of apps, allowing people to trade and interact seamlessly on-chain.
Watch the full recording here: https://youtu.be/XcFQoPCk5N0
Have more questions? Drop them below and we’ll include them in a future session.
Join us live every week in the Dusk Community
See you next week!