In this article, I focus solely on what @Dusk is advancing in 2026, looking only at aspects that can be verified on the ground
First, the roadmap is clear: Dusk is targeting “regulated finance on-chain” through three main pillars—DuskEVM, NPEX, and compliance licensing. The DuskEVM goal, scheduled for Q1 2026, is to provide a mainnet-ready environment. This allows developers to deploy contracts using familiar EVM and Solidity tools, while the underlying execution still enforces Dusk’s privacy and compliance rules—not just a superficial layer of compatibility
Second, NPEX represents the trading infrastructure for regulated assets and tokenized securities. Dusk sets real asset scale as a target, not just conceptual demos. This focus is critical because it determines whether trading activity will be continuous and verifiable rather than one-off experiments
Third, compliance is treated as a core part of product development. Dusk actively plans for regulatory licensing instead of ignoring it, embedding compliance as a prerequisite for system design Progress here is slower, but without it, the first two pillars lose significance
Regarding the chain itself, Dusk’s consensus and economic model prioritize certainty and security for financial transactions over maximum throughput Token issuance supports long-term network security and validator incentives, meaning $DUSK’s value depends on real network usage rather than short-term inflationary activity
My assessment of $DUSK is strictly project-based First, after DuskEVM launches, will developer deployments and contract interactions continue steadily, or remain short-term tests? Second, will NPEX gradually accumulate verifiable assets and transaction records, even at a modest scale, but consistently Third, will compliance progress follow phased milestones instead of staying declarative for extended periods
