$DUSK #dusk @Dusk
Hedger changed how I think about confidential EVM execution. It isn't simply about hiding data; it separates privacy from verification.

Homomorphic encryption keeps values encrypted while computation happens. Zero-knowledge proofs handle another job: proving the computation followed the rules without exposing plaintext.

So I see it as:

ONE PROTECTS THE DATA. THE OTHER CHECKS THE WORK.

That distinction matters. HE can keep values unreadable, but it doesn't by itself prove the result is correct. ZK can verify correctness, but without encryption the data may still be visible.

This makes Hedger from @Dusk interesting to me. The two primitives are complementary in confidential EVM workflows.

But there is a trade-off.

Cryptographic computation and proving create extra workload. For regulated financial applications, that overhead may be justified.

The question I keep coming back to is:

Can confidential EVM execution preserve privacy without making the workflow too expensive at scale?

What would you prioritize in confidential EVM execution?