It seems like everyone is launching a Bitcoin startup these days. In fact, there are more than 1,000 companies out there focused on the Bitcoin platform.

The same holds true within the Ethereum ecosystem. 2017 has seen an astounding growth of startups creating DApps, leveraging Ethereum’s blockchain and its developer community.

While Ethereum is a powerful platform for many uses, it is still considered a young technology. Particl believes that Bitcoin can provide a more solid foundation. The benefits of its battle tested code, infrastructure, experience and expertise from its huge pool of developers far outweigh an approach that just follows the latest popular startup trend.

Click here for a visual representation of Particl’s roadmap

A Bitcoin DApp

Particl uses the latest Bitcoin codebase (version 0.14.2) but with a focus on privacy and flexibility. First, the Particl DApp is built using its own chain rather than being a layer on top of the Bitcoin chain. This gives it more flexibility and agility for enhancements while maintaining the benefits of steady Bitcoin improvements.

Second, Particl created its own token (PART) which is far more private than Bitcoin and lays the foundation for its privacy platform. This will include features such as a decentralized marketplace, end-to-end encrypted chat and governance modules. Creating a platform “utility” token creates an intrinsic value, a true purpose beyond speculation and store of value.

Native SegWit Integration

Segregated Witness (SegWit) is a great example of how Particl is able to leverage Bitcoin Core improvements to enhance its own Particl Core. Not only was Particl ahead of the curve — it was betting on SegWit even before it was officially adopted by the Bitcoin community — it also prevents the backwards-compatibility issues that other projects that “activated’ it later with a softfork suffer. All PART transactions are SegWit transactions. Unlike other platforms that did not originally support SegWit but later “activated” it, PART users don’t have to worry about using old, non-SegWit-compatible addresses or old clients not recognizing the new transaction structures; all transactions are SegWit transactions on Particl.

Private by Design

PART, Particl’s private platform token, is the first token based on the Bitcoin Core codebase to bring Confidential Transactions (CT) to the real world. This type of transaction hides the amounts being transferred from outsiders. Anyone looking at the blockchain ledger can see the transaction but only the sender and receiver know exactly how much was transferred.

The ability to hide the value and sender of a transaction is critical to the functioning of a decentralized marketplace. The open and transparent nature of the blockchain poses a threat to the privacy of its users and the businesses that operate over it. Imagine a world where a competing business can track every move you make. That doesn’t look bright, does it?

Although CTs were proposed by Gregory Maxwell as early as 2013, the cryptocurrency community has been slow to implement them in any project. Particl is leading the way by deploying the protocol on the Bitcoin codebase for the very first time.

What Is “Intrinsic Value”?

Intrinsic value is the term applied to anything that has a purpose other than the perceived worth attached to those items by their owners. The “value” of most cryptocurrencies is based purely on the speculation of future demand (perceived worth) which is not intrinsic.

Being a Proof of Stake coin with an inflationary supply structure, PART tokens generate passive income for the owners who hold them. This creates an opportunity to earn money through normal transactions and every future marketplace transaction just by holding tokens in your wallet.

PART is also the utility token that fuels the privacy platform and future DApps. The Particl Market accepts all cryptocurrencies but seamlessly exchanges them into PART in order to process the purchase. The PART token also grants owners governing rights, making them governors of the Particl platform and private marketplace through decentralized voting or governance.

Particl’s approach to Bitcoin and the design of its token sets Particl apart from most of the other blockchain startups out there. Indeed, while there are many other Bitcoin-based projects being developed, very few of them can claim so many innovations in such a short time span.

Particl can lay claim to many firsts in the cryptocurrency space — it’s the first Bitcoin-based token to support CTs and the first to be SegWit-native from the start. Particl Testnet is currently testing a couple of Bitcoin firsts as well, including a RingCT implementation and a cold, multisig staking protocol which allows users to stake with superior security.