As Dusk moves toward a modular architecture, one change matters more than most: privacy is no longer treated as a bolt-on. It’s being rebuilt where it actually belongs.
That’s what Hedger is.
Hedger is a new privacy engine designed specifically for DuskEVM, the network’s EVM execution layer. Its job is straightforward: enable confidential transactions in an account-based environment without breaking auditability, tooling compatibility, or regulatory requirements.
This is a meaningful shift from earlier designs like Zedger, which were built around UTXO-style execution. Hedger is EVM-native. It works with standard Ethereum tooling, Solidity contracts, and familiar developer workflows. That makes adoption realistic, not theoretical.
How Hedger Approaches Privacy
Most DeFi privacy systems lean almost entirely on zero-knowledge proofs. Hedger doesn’t. Instead, it combines multiple cryptographic techniques to strike a balance between confidentiality, performance, and compliance.
By relying on ElGamal homomorphic encryption over elliptic curves, the system can operate on balances and state transitions without exposing them.
Zero-knowledge proofs sit on top as a verification tool, not as the core execution path.By not relying on ZK proofs for every operation, the system sidesteps several of the latency and UX issues typical of ZK-only designs.
Hedger also operates with a hybrid UTXO/account model. That sounds abstract, but the practical effect is simple: it allows confidential logic to coexist with account-based execution and integrate cleanly with real-world financial systems that expect accounts, permissions, and audit trails.
What This Enables in Practice
The most important thing Hedger unlocks isn’t anonymity. It’s controlled confidentiality.
Balances, holdings, and transfer amounts remain encrypted end-to-end. At the same time, transactions are auditable by design. When regulators, auditors, or legal processes need visibility, the system supports selective disclosure without rewriting history or breaking guarantees.
For institutional users, this matters. Order flow can remain hidden without sacrificing execution or oversight.Exposure doesn’t leak by default. Hedger also lays the groundwork for obfuscated order books, a requirement for serious trading venues that want to prevent front-running and information leakage.
Another practical detail that often gets overlooked: proof generation is fast. Lightweight circuits allow client-side proving in under two seconds, even in a browser. That keeps UX reasonable and avoids pushing complexity onto centralized infrastructure.
Why Hedger Exists at All
Hedger isn’t trying to make the EVM anonymous. That’s not realistic, and Dusk doesn’t pretend otherwise. Account-based systems have limits, and full anonymity still lives elsewhere in the stack.
What Hedger does offer is transactional privacy that works inside the EVM, without forcing developers to abandon existing tools or institutions to abandon oversight. That tradeoff less anonymity, more usability and compliance is deliberate.
It’s also why Hedger was built in-house. This isn’t experimental cryptography glued together for a demo. It reflects years of applied research, shaped by real regulatory constraints and the needs of financial infrastructure.
In practical terms, Hedger becomes a core part of DuskEVM’s identity. It’s the layer that allows real-world financial applications to operate privately, compliantly, and at scale without pretending that public blockchains can simply ignore regulation.
No marketing narrative needed. This is infrastructure work.
