Particl is an entirely decentralized platform. There is no third-party or intermediary operating it and having any sort of control over its network. It uses a mix of P2P and blockchain technologies, meaning that it is exclusively run by its global community of users.

The Open Marketplace is an equally decentralized application that’s built on top of the Particl network. It allows anyone in the world to buy and sell goods and services, physical or digital, regardless of where they are located in the world. And because it is entirely decentralized, there’s no staff or support team to enforce rules and policies.

Furthermore, the Open Marketplace is completely private by default, meaning no identifiable data can be linked to any of its users. Transactions are hidden on the blockchain, images are stripped of their metadata, data exchange is encrypted, and you can even connect the marketplace through the Tor network. In other words, users of the marketplace are anonymous.

Undesirable Content

This, however, introduces a bit of an issue when it comes to the content being put on there. After all, how can you prevent anyone from buying or selling anything when there are no rules and no central party with special permissions to moderate it? Giving special permissions/powers and allowing certain users to delete content and hold such a strong position of power is a slippery slope and, on a long enough timeline, ultimately a slow crawl back to the old ways where a company would run its own platform, impose its rules, and charge fees.

But this isn’t what Particl is about. No, Particl is about full decentralization and complete privacy. The recent years, with all of the data breaches like Equifax’s and the abuse of data like with the constant scandals involving Facebook, have shown without a doubt that the tech industry needs to evolve and start protecting its users. And, because data has become so valuable and such a big target for hackers, we cannot expect or trust centralized models such as Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, and central parties, to effectively secure our data.

This is why Particl’s Open Marketplace is entirely decentralized and private-by-default. Its “trustless” nature, meaning that you do not need to trust any entity to behave honestly, ensures that none of your data can be collected by any party other than the ones you transact with. It is, simply put, the next logical step in the evolution of eCommerce technology. But like any new groundbreaking technology, it also introduces new challenges. Keeping the marketplace free from undesirable listings is one of them.

Decentralized Governance

To fight off undesirable content, Particl has put in place a completely decentralized and provably fair governance mechanism where anyone can vote off undesirable listings.