This week’s team hangout featured Hein (CTO) and Thomas (Software Engineer) walk through the progress toward launching DuskEVM and what’s still needed before mainnet release.
Other topics include the role of EUROQ and other stablecoins, the evolving economic model, and more details on the phased rollout approach.
You can find a breakdown of the key questions and answers below 
Q1: What is the purpose of the FFI data driver and where can it be used?
- The data driver makes communication between Rust smart contracts and other environments much easier.
- With the data driver, smart contracts can now “explain” which functions they provide and how to translate data in and out.
- A generalized library has been added for the state contract and transfer contract.
- This allows client applications to communicate more easily with contracts.
- Dusk itself also needs this functionality for the L1 bridge between DuskDS and DuskEVM.
Q2: Will the dApp launch alongside DuskEVM, and how will its rollout work?
- The dApp is being developed in parallel with DuskEVM, and both are expected to land close to each other.
- The plan is to go for a phased rollout approach:
- Each phase prioritizes essential features that make the app functional and usable.
- This ensures faster time-to-market instead of waiting for every integration to be ready.
- The phased model means, for example, launching with one provider integration first, then expanding gradually.
- To reduce confusion: the app is currently referred to as “STOX” internally, but that is not the final production name.
Q3: Have partners started testing on DuskEVM, and how are those tests going?
- Some partners are eager to build and test, but so far most testing has been done internally.
- Recent bugs squashed include:
- A memory leak.
- Rollbacks of state on the L2, traced back to an Ethereum-like instance used for bridging.
- The team is now moving fully to DuskDS as the bridging layer, which has proven more stable.
- Once this transition is complete, the public testnet can be launched. At that point, external partners and community developers will be strongly encouraged to start deploying and testing.
- Endpoints will be published soon, not only for partners but also for developers in the community who want to experiment.
- Internally, contracts have been in a usable state for some time, and team members have already deployed test applications.
Q4: What kind of dApps are being developed for DuskEVM, and will they come from existing ecosystems or be newly built?
- Specific names can’t be shared yet, but:
- A major bridge provider and a major oracle provider are close to finalizing deals.
- Both established dApps and smaller/new projects are in discussion.
- The dApp being built directly by Dusk will serve as a flagship app that is planned to showcase native issuance and full on-chain financial workflows.
- Rollout will be phased:
- Launch will be followed with listings, partner announcements, and the internal dApp
- Additional third-party dApps will onboard progressively afterwards, depending on their own development pipelines.
- Strategy balances timing between Dusk’s release schedule and partners’ readiness, while also pacing announcements rather than revealing everything at once.
Q5: What is the status of DuskPay, and will it become a priority again?
- Current status: DuskPay was deprioritized in favor of DuskEVM and due to regulatory changes in Italy affecting partner demand.
- Future plans:
- The core concept of payments already exists on mainnet in a basic form and can be extended on DuskEVM.
- The team is exploring on/off-ramp solutions, white-label partnerships, and ways to streamline payments.
- Potential use cases:
- Using yield from tokenized securities or money market funds for everyday payments.
- Node operators or other participants using earned rewards directly for transactions.
- Integrating lending/borrowing models, e.g. borrowing against assets for short-term liquidity.
- Streamlined off-ramping so the network can serve both investment and daily payment needs.
Q6: Will EUROQ and other stablecoins be available on DuskEVM?
- EUROQ and stablecoins are essential for Dusk as both a settlement and payment currency. At least one Quantoz-issued token will launch on DuskEVM.
- It won’t be the only option:
- The team is also in talks with other on/off-ramp partners that use different stablecoins.
- A bridging partner supports major tokens like USDC, which can be bridged to DuskEVM.
- These bridged stablecoins will not be natively issued on Dusk but will exist as wrapped variants locked on one side of the bridge and usable on DuskEVM.
- DuskEVM will support multiple stablecoins, enabling broad liquidity inflows from other networks.
Q7: Are there updates on the DuskEVM economic model?
- Several considerations are being tested and refined:
- Currently, blob transactions are priced at 1,000,000 LUX, aligned with the cost of a Phoenix transaction on DuskDS.
- On DuskEVM, fees are very low, and the team may increase costs slightly to bring them closer to DuskDS levels.
- Potential uses of excess fees:
- Could be burned, or
- Redirected to stakers, still under discussion.
- Design goals:
- Align the fee model with the modular architecture so DuskDS and DuskEVM are seen as one integrated chain long-term.
- Prevent fees from being too low, which could make attacks cheap.
- Ensure competitiveness, if another DuskEVM instance launched without fee redistribution, it could undercut costs, so balance is important.
- The fee model will evolve in production based on real usage, with early adjustments already underway.
Q8: Will there be an NPEX dApp on DuskEVM?
- It’s not just an “NPEX dApp”, it’s a joint project between Dusk and NPEX.
- NPEX provides the licenses and compliance, while Dusk delivers the tech, infra and branding.
- Investors have full legal ownership and protection, unlike many tokenized products that are just IOUs.
- The dApp will evolve in phases, integrating NPEX’s exchange infra and later enabling native issuance.
- A regulated, on-chain gateway to stocks, ETFs, MMFs and more, with real ownership and the ability to attract TVL from other chains.
Q9: Beyond testing, what still needs to be done before DuskEVM can go live?
- The main remaining piece is the L1 bridge, which still requires work to fully connect the web wallet and smart contracts.
- A preview of the web wallet integration was already shared in the latest progress update (design may still change).
- Once the bridge is finalized, it mainly comes down to testing and validation before launch.
- More details are outlined in the recent progress update here: Progress Update: Road to Modular Architecture
Q10: What throughput can we expect on DuskEVM?
- In practice, throughput is more than enough for Dusk’s current and foreseeable needs.
- Scalability is not a bottleneck:
- If limits are ever reached, sequencers can be upgraded (similar to Optimism/Arbitrum).
- DuskDS (L1) is already 10x faster than Ethereum and supports ~300 private TPS.
- What matters most: TVL and transaction activity, not hitting arbitrary TPS numbers.
- Dusk controls both L1 and L2 →
- Can optimize finality far beyond Ethereum rollups.
- Enables same-block finality for L2 transactions, meeting strict EU regulatory requirements (e.g. MiFID II, 10s finality).
- Unlike Ethereum-based L2s, Dusk can guarantee settlement finality in line with compliance, critical for financial institutions.
Q11: Do you think the EVM trend will continue, and how does Dusk’s modular approach fit in?
- EVM is the market standard: Most institutions, dApps, and tools are built around Ethereum APIs. Supporting EVM was the right move for adoption.
- Other chains (Solana, Bitcoin) are gaining integrations, but EVM’s network effect is unmatched today.
- DuskEVM adds flexibility:
- Keeps everything built on DuskDS valid and complementary.
- Modular design allows spinning up new layers or even application-specific chains for different needs (e.g. high-frequency trading vs. savings plans).
- Dusk can adapt to future trends while focusing now on the EVM path to mass adoption, without losing the ability to innovate beyond it later.
A few more specific questions around Hedger and DuskEVM were answered live.
Watch the full recording here: https://youtu.be/XZ2_t9XB_GE
Have more questions? Drop them below and we’ll include them in a future session.
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See you next week!