Nillion has announced Dusk, the first milestone on its seven-step roadmap for Encrypted Markets on the Sepolia testnet, one of the public networks Ethereum maintains for testing applications before they reach mainnet.

To hide conditional trading instructions until specific price and/or time triggers are met, Dusk uses encrypted Covenants. The initial release includes selected crypto assets and conditions that can last up to 30 days, with the Ethereum mainnet planned for release at the end of September.

Nillion said the new system is designed to add a privacy layer to onchain trading by keeping a trader’s instructions hidden before execution.

— Nillion (@nillion) August 28, 2026

Dusk introduces encrypted Covenants

Dusk is the first live phase of Nillion’s seven-stage Encrypted Markets roadmap. Built around Ethereum, it introduces Covenants, which allow users to create conditional instructions and post them onchain in encrypted form.

A trader can pre-save an action and trigger it based on a price level and a future time period. In that state, the instruction is sealed, and observers will be able to see that an encrypted Covenant exists, but not what it contains. When the trigger is reached, Nillion’s decentralized nodes help unlock the onchain instruction so it can settle.

The system does not rely on a single operator to decide when an instruction becomes accessible. In conventional onchain automation, conditional orders are typically handed to keeper or automation services that can read their terms; Nillion’s design instead keeps the terms sealed until the trigger is reached. Once posted, however, Covenants are not cancelable. If an instruction never executes, it can expire without being made public.

A $50,000 ETH trade triggered by BTC

Nillion gave an example of cross-asset trading. A trader could prepare an order to buy $50,000 worth of ETH when BTC reaches $80,000. As long as Bitcoin has not reached that level, the ETH trading instruction remains encrypted onchain.

If BTC reaches the target, the condition is triggered and the instruction can be unlocked. The trigger can be different from the asset that is eventually traded. Nillion said this may help traders build more advanced conditional strategies than regular stop or limit orders.

Hidden instructions target onchain information leakage

The initial release of Dusk includes price-based conditions for a select list of crypto assets, as well as a 30-day window. Nillion said it has already tested a sealed stop mechanism end to end, meaning a stop level will not be visible until it is activated. The same infrastructure has also been used for a sealed bid auction, a format long used in traditional markets in which offers stay confidential until an opening moment.

Nillion said the purpose is to prevent trading intentions from becoming visible before they occur. In a transparent blockchain environment, public exposure of orders or strategies can reveal information to other participants and allow trading ahead of the original order — a practice commonly known as front-running, and one example of the broader maximal extractable value (MEV) issue documented across public blockchains.

Ethereum mainnet rollout planned for September

Dusk has been released on the Sepolia testnet. Nillion expects the first applications powered by Dusk to be available on testnet before mid-September, giving developers a window to exercise sealed stops and auctions without real funds at stake. The project plans to deploy its contracts to Ethereum mainnet, with node network bootstrapping expected to follow in late September.

Dusk is the initial milestone in Nillion’s Encrypted Markets vision, reflecting the project’s core principle that trade instructions remain encrypted onchain until they are ready to be executed. Six further milestones remain on the seven-step roadmap, and the late-September mainnet deployment will be the first time the mechanism operates with live funds rather than test assets.