Particl Basics #1: The privacy coin

Hello and welcome to our new series of bite-sized "get to know Particl" articles. We'll be introducing all of the innovative and privacy-friendly features Particl has to offer!

Haven't you heard about Particl before? That's right – it is that private.

Where else to start, than at the core of the whole platform – the cutting-edge PART coin.

Public PART, "the classic"

Particl's code was forked from Bitcoin back in 2017 and like BTC, the default PART "public" coin is pseudonymous. Unlike BTC though, PART is Segwit-native, which results in higher efficiency of Particl blockchain1 from the beginning!

Public transactions are the cheapest ones and they are most widely supported (on exchanges and similar services). However from the privacy perspective, they don't offer very much – as mentioned before – they are pseudonymous like Bitcoin.

On the other hand, Public PART coins can stake and bring you at least 2% in staking rewards per year. We will get into staking more in-depth in following articles.

Public PART coin

  • basic, cheap payments
  • accepted anywhere where PART is supported
  • grow your savings with hands-off staking with a better interest than in your bank
  • "transparent" and auditable

Blinded PART, "the confidential transactions" (CT)

Blind Particl coins offer a significant step-up for privacy. Based on the work of Elements Project2 (and Bitcoin Core developer Gregory Maxwell), Blind PART hides transaction amounts from any third parties, that aren't involved in the transaction. Any observer can still see who sent coins to whom, but can't see how much.

Blind PART coin

  • increased privacy with hidden amounts
  • reasonable transaction costs
  • capable of smart contracts

Anonymous PART, "the ninja RingCT"

Keeping the best for last? Most definitely!

You've surely heard about Monero (XMR) before. Built on CryptoNote protocol, XMR pioneered Ring signatures3 for untraceable payments.

Particl was the first coin to bring these privacy improvements on Bitcoin codebase. In combination with Confidential Transactions (CT), resulting Anonymous PART transactions hide not only the amounts transferred, but also all participants. Observers can see some transaction, but links to its participants are broken. And that's just the way to take care of your financial activities.

Anon PART coin

Still not convinced this is a big deal? Both Blind (CT) and Anonymous (RingCT) coins support smart contracts. One of the most practical examples of this is implementation of MAD Escrow4 mechanism in Particl Open Marketplace. That, again, is a big topic for a future article, so keep an eye for that.

  • highest privacy available – hide everything from prying eyes
  • capable of smart contracts

Key takeaways

Each coin type offers different advantages. It's only up to you, how you want to "mix your bag". You don't need to stress about the perfect "mix", as anybody can fluidly convert each type into another, at any time. However, having your PART coins split into all three types brings you the most versatility and privacy.

Privacy in your control.

Particl is a project built for the users. It puts you in control of your digital and financial life. And the PART coin is just the beginning...


Let us know your feedback and – if you have – your questions as well. We'll be happy to explain the things we might missed.

You're kindly invited to join our Particl community on Riot, Discord, Telegram and the official forums.

And keep in touch with us, Particl.page on Twitter, Medium or Plume. We'll be happy to have you!


1

Particl blockchain specifications

2

Confidential Transactions investigation by Elements Project

3

CryptoNote Ring signatures, RingCT whitepaper

4

"Mutually Assured Destruction" 2-party escrow by Particl Project