What Is Moonlight? Dusk's Public Transaction Model

Moonlight is Dusk's public, account-based transaction model. Accounts have visible balances, and every Moonlight transfer shows the sender, the recipient and the amount. It is one of two transaction models built into DuskDS, the settlement layer of the Dusk Layer 1. The other, Phoenix, handles shielded transfers.

Some financial flows need to be seen. A treasury publishing reserves for reporting may want anyone to check the numbers, and Moonlight gives those flows a transparent path on the same chain that carries confidential ones. The 2024 Dusk Whitepaper specifies Moonlight alongside Phoenix, Succinct Attestation consensus and the Kadcast network layer.

How does Moonlight work?

Moonlight works like the account model many blockchains use. Each account holds a balance anyone can read, and a transfer moves value from one account to another in plain view. It is the transparent way to move DUSK at the protocol layer.

Moonlight transactions are processed by the Transfer Contract, one of Dusk's two genesis contracts. It accepts both Moonlight and Phoenix payloads, routes each to the right verification logic and keeps the global state consistent, with no double spends and fees handled correctly. Moonlight is used to transfer DUSK, pay gas and call smart contracts on the Dusk L1.

Moonlight and Phoenix both settle on the same chain and expose different information to observers. Moonlight shows balances and transfer details. Phoenix holds value as encrypted notes and uses zero-knowledge proofs, so transfers stay confidential while the network still verifies them. With both models in the base layer, public and confidential activity share one settlement layer and one native token.

Smart-contract applications sit above these models. Contracts on DuskEVM run in an EVM environment that settles on DuskDS. The Apps & Products page lists DuskDS, DuskEVM and the rest of Dusk's network and tools.