Starting in 2026, the ecological activities of Dusk Foundation have been remarkably intensive. Reviewing recent data and progress, this chain seems to have found its direction this year—accelerating in every aspect from staking volume to technological iterations and the expansion of partnership networks.

**Numbers Speak**

As of early January, the total staked tokens on the Dusk network have surpassed 200 million, accounting for 36% of the total supply. This ratio indicates a high level of community participation. The liquid staking platform Sozu launched its mainnet in December last year, and after going live, the TVL quickly soared to $25.6 million, with an annualized yield stabilized at 28.24%. The platform also initiated an airdrop plan for early users, distributing a total of 500,000 tokens, with the distribution period extended to July. This long-term incentive design is quite interesting.

**Ecological Focus Becoming Clear**

On January 10th, the official launched a community vote asking users which type of dApp they care about most. The results were quite clear—DeFi applications and RWA (Real-World Asset Tokenization) received the most support votes. This reflects the overall construction approach of the ecosystem: prioritizing the development of applications directly related to compliant finance.

At the same time, a joint activity launched on January 9th is also noteworthy. The prize pool for this collaboration exceeds 3 million tokens, and users can earn points by completing tasks. The event will run until February 9th. This gamified incentive model has now become a standard way for projects to guide user participation.

**Technological Iterations Continue**

DuskDS mainnet has been running for a year, and the recent Layer-1 upgrade focused on optimizing data availability mechanisms. According to official statements, this upgrade can double transaction throughput. Additionally, the DuskEVM testnet is undergoing gas model optimization, reducing the cost of complex transactions by 15%—which greatly improves user experience.

Another highlight is the privacy transaction module. Hedger now supports encrypted balance display while maintaining an audit-friendly design. Feedback from institutional users has been positive, indicating that balancing privacy protection and regulatory compliance is feasible.

**Rapid Expansion of Partnerships**

In addition to existing red envelope activities, a community DEX platform has integrated Dusk, supporting token swaps. Wallet tools are also expanding development. More importantly, progress on compliance—after obtaining MiCA licensing—a platform focused on securities tokenization is advancing real-world business implementation, with plans to handle assets worth hundreds of millions of euros within this year.

**Market Performance and Future Outlook**

In the past week, the token price increased by 18%, significantly outperforming the broader market. Industry analysis points out that the EU securities market is valued at up to €40 trillion, a scale that creates genuine demand for compliant, privacy-compatible infrastructure. Dusk’s positioning fits perfectly into this niche.

An important milestone is expected in the second half of the year—the launch of platform trading features aimed at facilitating RWA transactions worth €300 million. Based on current ecosystem development, this target is not just empty talk.

**Summary**

From explosive growth in staking data to continuous refinement of technical details and the gradual onboarding of partners, Dusk is clearly positioning itself for full-scale advancement in 2026. If this momentum can be maintained, the influence of this chain in on-chain finance will see substantial growth. Worth ongoing attention.