Privacy conversations in crypto often ignore one uncomfortable truth. Finance does not operate anonymously at scale. It operates through identity, permissions, and accountability. When I look at how Dusk Foundation approaches identity, it becomes clear that the protocol understands this reality deeply.
Dusk does not frame identity as exposure. It frames it as controlled disclosure. Participants can prove who they are, or that they meet certain criteria, without revealing unnecessary personal or commercial information. This distinction is crucial. Institutions need to know they are interacting with compliant counterparties, but they do not need to publish identities on a public ledger forever.
By embedding identity logic into the protocol in a privacy preserving way, Dusk enables regulated activity without creating surveillance infrastructure. That balance is rare. From my perspective, this is where many privacy focused chains fall short. They optimize for anonymity but forget that regulated markets require accountability. Dusk treats identity as a functional layer that enables trust rather than undermining it.