What Is Phoenix? Dusk's Shielded Transaction Model
Phoenix is Dusk's shielded transaction model. Funds are held as encrypted notes rather than visible balances, and each transfer uses zero-knowledge proofs to show it is valid while the amount, the sender and the notes spent stay hidden from public observers. Holders can selectively disclose details through viewing keys when regulation or an audit requires it.
On a fully transparent ledger, anyone can trace a holder's balance and payment history. Financial users need that history kept confidential, and they still need to prove that every transfer follows the rules. Phoenix gives DUSK transfers that confidentiality at the protocol layer, and its design has been externally audited. Jules de Smit reviewed the Phoenix transaction model and its circuit implementation in September 2024.
How does Phoenix work?
Phoenix is UTXO-based. Value lives in encrypted notes, and a transfer spends existing notes and creates new ones. Each transaction carries a zero-knowledge proof that the transfer is correct, with no double spend and enough funds to cover it. The proof keeps the private details hidden, including how much moves, who sent the note (except to the receiver) and which specific notes were spent.
The network checks these proofs through the Transfer Contract, the DuskDS genesis contract that accepts Phoenix and Moonlight payloads and routes each to the right verification logic. The Phoenix research paper describes how the model extends the UTXO design and lets a user delegate proof generation to a partially trusted proof helper.
Phoenix transfers can still be audited by the parties a holder chooses, through selective disclosure with viewing keys. A holder can reveal specific information to an auditor or regulator without exposing everything else. Public observers still see only a valid transfer. Selective disclosure runs across Dusk's privacy capabilities, with Phoenix for DUSK transfers, Hedger for applications on DuskEVM and Citadel for identity credentials.
Phoenix sits beside Moonlight, Dusk's public account-based model, inside DuskDS. Both models settle on the same chain, so confidential and public transfers of DUSK share one settlement layer. Both, with the rest of Dusk's network and tools, are on the Apps & Products page.
Common questions about Phoenix
Are all Dusk transactions shielded?
Phoenix transfers are shielded. Moonlight is the public model, with visible balances and transfer details, and privacy in a smart-contract application depends on how that application is built.
Who can see a Phoenix transaction?
The network verifies the proof without learning the amount, the sender or the notes spent. The receiver learns who sent the note, and the holder can reveal further details to an authorized party through a viewing key.
Is Phoenix a separate blockchain or token?
Phoenix is a transaction model inside DuskDS, the settlement layer of the Dusk L1. It moves DUSK, the network's native token, and has no token of its own.