Written by: Average Joe's Crypto, Messari Researcher

Translated by: Coolman, Foresight News

Key Points

· Particle Network is developing a modular Layer1 blockchain that generates universal accounts by aggregating all users' on-chain addresses and balances to achieve chain abstraction.

· Through its L1 blockchain, Particle Network implements three core functions: universal accounts, universal liquidity, and universal Gas. Each function supports unique use cases by eliminating manual multi-chain interactions in the user experience.

· Particle Network also implements dual staking through Babylon to guide cryptoeconomic security, while using aggregated data availability to eliminate single points of failure in network data availability.

· Particle Network's public testnet went live on May 2, and a rewards program called "Particle Pioneer" was launched at the same time. 1.3 million accounts have been registered and 6.71 billion $PARTI points have been distributed.

Introduction

The increasing number of blockchains seems to be one of the few constants in the cryptocurrency industry, regardless of market conditions. Whether it is Ethereum Layer 2, non-EVM Layer 1, or specific application chains, there are new blockchains almost every month.

The increasing number of blockchains is one of the few constants in the cryptocurrency industry, regardless of market conditions. Whether it is Ethereum's Layer 2, non-EVM Layer 1, or specific application chains, there seems to be a new blockchain launched every month. While a diverse blockchain system can provide users with a variety of options, since each blockchain is customized for specific needs or use cases, a multi-chain ecosystem has disadvantages for both developers and users.

Developers not only have to worry about the application or product they are developing, but also on which blockchain ecosystem to deploy it. Whether to choose to deploy on multiple chains and incur additional development costs, or to choose to deploy on a single chain to save costs but be isolated from the broader multi-chain ecosystem, these are issues that developers need to consider in the early stages of product design. For users, more chains means more complexity and liquidity, and the user experience (UX) is far less simple than Web2.

Chain abstraction seems to be the only way for the Web3 field to achieve Web2-level adoption. Particle Network is developing a modular L1 blockchain that implements chain abstraction by allowing each user to have a unified on-chain address and balance on all blockchains.

Project Background

Particle Network was co-founded by Pengyu Wang and Tao Pan in April 2022. Both founders have experience in mobile game development, and the original purpose of creating Particle Network was to provide backend infrastructure for developers. To date, Particle Network has raised $25 million through four rounds of financing. On May 2, 2024, Particle Network's incentive L1 testnet was launched, providing points rewards through Particle Pioneer, and its mainnet is scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2024.

Network Features

Particle Network can realize three core functions of universal accounts, universal liquidity and universal Gas through the Layer1 chain it developed. Each function has a unique use case, and its clear purpose is to realize chain abstraction for users by eliminating manual multi-chain interactions in the user experience.

Universal Accounts

Source: Particle Network

Particle Network Universal Accounts provide each user with a unified address, balance, and interaction point, regardless of which chain their dApps and funds are on. In addition, Universal Accounts are EVM-compatible with non-EVM networks through ERC-4337 implementation, and can even be deployed on networks with limited programmability, such as Bitcoin. Smart Accounts offer greater flexibility, programmability, and security than classic EOA accounts, and Universal Accounts improve upon EOA by unifying across chains, allowing users to use a constant account and balance across all chains.

For example, suppose a user wants to mint an NFT on an L2 rollup, but all their ETH is on the Ethereum chain. With EOA, a user must sign the following transactions:

· Approve the bridge contract

· Bridge ETH from Ethereum to L2

· Approve the minting contract

· Mint the NFT

However, with universal accounts, the same user only needs to sign one transaction.

Particle Network is also developing a universal WaaS SDK so that any application can easily integrate universal accounts into their products. In addition, Universal WaaS will also allow applications that have already integrated with Particle Network’s existing wallet abstraction services, Modular Smart Wallet-as-a-Service and BTC Connect to automatically upgrade existing smart accounts to Universal Accounts.

Universal Liquidity

Source: Particle Network

Universal Liquidity is the basis for Particle Network's universal account to aggregate all on-chain liquidity and generate a single balance data. Simply put, universal liquidity is Particle Network's cross-chain bridge solution, which allows users to trade on any supported blockchain.

For example, suppose a user wants to buy SPL tokens on Solana, but all of their funds are on Ethereum. By using Particle Network's universal account, the user only needs to sign a transaction to complete the purchase. The underlying liquidity mechanism for this transaction is to bridge funds from Ethereum to Solana through Universal Liquidity. These transactions will be executed on behalf of users through Particle Network’s distributed network of Bundler nodes.

Ultimately, Universal Liquidity aims to automate cross-chain activities on a per-transaction basis. Typically, cross-chain activities involve multiple manual transactions on multiple different blockchains. With Universal Liquidity, the user experience is simplified, and cross-chain activities such as the ones described above can be completed in a single transaction.

Universal Gas

Source: Particle Network

One of the challenges facing multi-chain frameworks is gas payments. Particle Network's Universal Gas aims to solve this complexity by abstracting away the specific Gas tokens used. By using Particle Network's Paymaster, users can pay for the Gas fee of a transaction using tokens on any supported chain. For example, USDC on Ethereum can be used to pay for the Gas of a transaction on Solana.

When transacting through a universal account, Particle Network prompts the user to choose which token to use to pay the associated gas fee. Users can choose multiple tokens, even tokens on multiple blockchains, to pay. These tokens are then transferred to Paymaster, exchanged for Particle Network's native token PARTI, and used to settle the associated transactions on Particle Network. The Bundler node then executes the associated transactions.

Technology

Particle Network is a modular Layer 1 built on Cosmos SDK and CometBFT. Cosmos SDK is an open source software development kit (SDK) for building sovereign, multi-asset, public, PoS blockchains, often used to build custom application layers or state machines, while CometBFT is used to securely replicate that state machine across all nodes in the network. CometBFT is an application-agnostic engine that handles the network layer and consensus layer through two main components:

The consensus algorithm, Tendermint.

Socket protocol, namely Application Blockchain Interface (ABCI).

Tendermint verifies requests on the source chain and confirms changes on the target chain. Its consensus provides instant finality and Byzantine fault tolerance. In addition, Particle Network also uses Berachain's BeaconKit, which also has an EVM-compatible execution environment.

Modules

The core functions of Particle Network (universal accounts, liquidity and Gas) are implemented through three main modules: the master key storage hub, the decentralized message network and the decentralized Bundler.

Source: Particle Network

Master Keystore Hub

Master Keystore Hub module acts as the central "repository of truth" for the Particle Network by synchronizing state changes for universal accounts on all supported blockchains. In this way, the Master Keystore Hub maintains state parity between networks while keeping a record of any changes that occur on the Particle Network.

Decentralized Messaging Network

The Particle Network's Decentralized Messaging Network (DMN) module forwards successful user actions (transactions on universal accounts) on external blockchains to the Particle Network. The DMN is built on a system of relayer nodes (node messaging hubs on the Particle Network). In addition, DMN works with the Master Keystore Hub to transfer state data to and from supported blockchains.

Decentralized Bundler

The Decentralized Bundler module is responsible for performing external user operations, which is a core component of universal liquidity. This module consists of a distributed network of Bundler nodes. Bundler nodes conduct transactions on behalf of universal accounts, such as purchasing NFTs or exchanging tokens. Bundler nodes achieve this by interacting with liquidity providers. Note that the liquidity providers here are not traditional decentralized exchanges (DEX), but liquidity pools with funds spanning multiple chains, which can be used for bridging liquidity pools.

For example, let’s say a user wants to buy SOL on Solana, but all of their funds are in USDC, split evenly between Ethereum, Optimism, and Arbitrum. The universal account signs a single transaction that does the following:

· Particle Network’s L1 processes the user’s actions associated with the signed transaction.

· Bundler forwards the user’s actions to the liquidity provider, sending the USDC on Ethereum, Optimism, and Arbitrum to the respective liquidity provider.

· Upon receiving the USDC, the liquidity provider sends the USDC on Solana to the user’s account.

· The Bundler node executes the transaction on the Solana DEX, exchanging USDC for SOL on behalf of the user.

Finally, the Watchtower node ensures that these interrelated modules are working properly by providing proof of execution or fraud proof for each block produced for each epoch.

Double Staking

Particle Network uses a DPoS consensus mechanism featuring a double staking system. Particle Network will utilize two different sets of validator nodes: one set validates with Particle Network's native token, and the other set validates with BTC through the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon. The two sets of validators will reach consensus independently. The double staking system can enable cryptoeconomic security through verified crypto assets such as BTC and the network's own native token.

Aggregate Data Availability

Data availability is also one of the inseparable challenges in the blockchain field. Data availability refers to ensuring that all nodes have access to all the data required to verify transactions and maintain the state of the chain. In addition, using only one data availability solution will create a single point of failure. If the data availability solution does not work properly, then Particle nodes cannot guarantee the validity of blocks. Therefore, Particle Network adopts Aggregate Data Availability (AggDA), a unique approach that utilizes multiple data availability networks: Celestia, Avail, and NEAR DA.

Source: Particle Network

For each block generated on the Particle Network, its data is randomly published in one of the following ways:

· Selective publication - data associated with a block is published to only one of the supported DA solutions. This approach helps reduce the costs associated with publishing data.

· Over-publication - data associated with a block is published to all supported DA solutions. This approach, while more expensive than selective publication, spreads the risk of any single DA solution not functioning properly.

Public Testnet

Particle Network's public testnet was launched on May 2, 2024. The testnet has two core features of Particle Network: universal accounts and universal gas. Users can register for the testnet and create a universal account using an EVM wallet such as MetaMask or Rainbow as a signer of the relevant universal account. In addition, through Particle Network's BTC Connect, users can also control universal accounts using Bitcoin wallets such as Unisat or OKX.

Users can deposit native tokens from supported test networks (ETH for Ethereum, BNB for BSC, etc.) to test Particle Network's universal gas function. Once these tokens are deposited, they are automatically converted into universal gas (USDG). With USDG, users can send transactions on the testnet. As of press time, 9.6 million transactions on Particle Network's testnet have used USDG. In addition, there have been more than 121.5 million user operations associated with these transactions. It is worth noting that this is an early version of the general Gas implementation, and a completely new implementation will be adopted after the mainnet is launched.

Particle Pioneer

Particle Network has launched the Particle Pioneer program to incentivize users to participate in the Particle Network testnet. The program rewards testnet users with $PARTI points in exchange for future airdrops, bonuses on People's Launchpad, and whitelisting quotas for various ecosystem projects. People's Launchpad is the Particle Network ecosystem project designed to bootstrap projects and applications in the ecosystem.

Users earn points by sending transactions and paying for gas using USDG. 50 points are awarded for each transaction, up to 100 transactions per day. In addition, users can earn additional points by signing in every day. The more consecutive days you send transactions, the more points you earn.

Particle Pioneer also offers additional points to holders of Particle Pioneer NFTs (NFTs are exclusive to testnet users and participants of previous events). It is reported that there are three types of NFTs, and depending on the type of NFT, points can be increased by 2% to 30%.

To date, 1.3 million accounts have registered to participate in the Particle Pioneer event and obtained $6.71 billion in PARTI points.

Roadmap

With the launch of the Particle Network testnet in May, the protocol is one step away from the final mainnet release. The Particle Networkroadmap is as follows:

Q2’24 - Add universal liquidity and modular nodes to the public testnet

Q3’24 - Mainnet V1 launched, including universal accounts, liquidity and Gas

Q4’24 - Testnet launches double staking and AggDA

2025 - Mainnet V2 supports double staking and AggDA

Competitive landscape

Chain abstraction is the origin of solving two major problems in the blockchain industry. The first problem is that multi-chain frameworks fragment liquidity and users, forming isolated ecosystems. The second problem is that externally owned account (EOA) wallets provide a poor user experience that cannot compare to the seamlessness of Web2 applications. Solutions to these problems have mostly been developed separately: bridge protocols connect isolated blockchains, while smart contract wallets enhance the user experience. Chain abstraction integrates these solutions, combining the advantages of both into a single product. Traditionally, protocols and teams have focused on one solution or the other, but new projects, including Particle Network, are committed to providing both solutions at the same time, providing a more cohesive and efficient user experience.

Near

NEAR is a multi-functional L1 smart contract platform with chain abstraction services. NEAR's multi-chain signature service allows users to use accounts on NEAR to sign transactions on other chains such as Ethereum, BNB, etc. Similar to Particle Network, NEAR also achieves chain abstraction through its MPC network and chain signatures and multi-chain gas relays.

Avocado developed by the Instadapp team

Instadapp's Avocado platform is a smart contract account that is compatible with multiple EVM-compatible networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, and Gnosis Chain. Similar to Particle Network, Avocado abstracts the underlying chain from the user experience. In addition, Avocado also implements the Paymaster gas tank, allowing users to pay for all gas in US dollars. One major difference is that Avocado only integrates with EVM networks, while Particle Network has chosen to support non-EVM networks as well.

XION

XION is a modular L1 blockchain that aims to create a "universal abstraction" layer to enable a frictionless Web3 user experience. The Universal Abstraction Layer is an all-encompassing infrastructure solution that incorporates accounts, signatures, fees, and interoperability directly at the protocol level. Key to the solution are XION's "Meta Accounts," a smart contract account solution similar to Particle Network's Universal Accounts. However, one of the key differences is that Meta Accounts initiate cross-chain transactions from XION's L1, while Universal Accounts initiate cross-chain transactions from the source blockchain, which is then forwarded to and further coordinated by Particle Network's L1. XION is currently in beta with a mainnet launch planned for 2024.

Closing Summary

Particle Network meets existing needs in the blockchain space by solving the problems of liquidity fragmentation and user experience in a multi-chain ecosystem. With a modular Layer1, Particle Network provides three functions: universal accounts, universal liquidity, and universal Gas to achieve chain abstraction and simplify user interactions between different blockchains. Since its establishment in April 2022, Particle Network has launched an incentivized L1 testnet and received financial support from well-known investors. The Particle team expects to officially release the mainnet in the second half of 2024. In addition, Particle Network's underlying technologies include Cosmos SDK, CometBFT, and various innovative modules to enable seamless cross-chain transactions and state synchronization.

The public testnet launched in May 2024 has launched the functions of universal accounts and universal gas. In the future, Particle Network will continue to integrate universal liquidity and modular nodes, and launch the mainnet in the third quarter of this year, followed by other functions in 2025. In the competition with projects such as NEAR, Instadapp's Avocado and XION, Particle Network's chain abstraction synthesis method and dual pledge system make it a strong competitor in the field of chain abstraction design.

[Disclaimer] The market is risky and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Invest at your own risk.

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