Written by Average Joe’s Crypto, Messari Researcher
Compiled by: Coolman, Foresight News
Core Viewpoint
Particle Network is developing a modular Layer1 blockchain that achieves chain abstraction by aggregating all users' on-chain addresses and balances to generate universal accounts.
Through its L1 blockchain, Particle Network implements three core features: Universal Accounts, Universal Liquidity, and Universal Gas. Each feature supports unique use cases by eliminating manual multi-chain interactions from the user experience.
Particle Network also implements dual staking through Babylon to bootstrap cryptoeconomic security, while using aggregated data availability to eliminate single points of failure for network data availability.
Particle Network’s public testnet went live on May 2, along with a rewards program called “Particle Pioneer.” Currently, 1.3 million accounts have been registered and 6.71 billion $PARTI points have been distributed.
Introduction
Regardless of the market conditions, the increasing number of blockchains seems to be one of the few constants in the cryptocurrency industry. Whether it is Ethereum Layer2, non-EVM Layer1 or application-specific chains, there are new blockchains almost every month.
Regardless of market conditions, the increasing number of blockchains is one of the few constants in the cryptocurrency industry. Whether it is Ethereum's Layer 2, non-EVM Layer 1, or specific application chains, it seems that new blockchains are launched every month. While a diverse blockchain system can provide users with a variety of choices, 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 bear the 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.
If the Web3 space wants its adoption rate to truly reach the level of Web2, chain abstraction seems to be the only way to go. 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.
Background of the project
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 point rewards through Particle Pioneer, and its mainnet is scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2024.
Network characteristics
Particle Network can realize three core functions through its developed Layer1 chain: universal account, universal liquidity and universal gas. Each function has a unique use case, with the clear purpose of realizing chain abstraction for users by eliminating manual multi-chain interactions in the user experience.
General Account
Source: Particle Network
Particle Network Universal Accounts provide each user with a unified address, balance, and interaction point, regardless of which chain the dApp and funds used by the user are located on. In addition, Universal Accounts are compatible with EVM and non-EVM networks through ERC-4337, and can even be deployed on networks with limited programmability such as Bitcoin. Compared with classic EOA accounts, Smart Accounts have greater flexibility, programmability, and security. In addition, Universal Accounts improve EOA through cross-chain unification, allowing users to use a constant account and balance on all chains.
For example, suppose a user wants to mint an NFT on L2 rollup, but all their ETH is on the Ethereum chain. Using EOA, the user must sign the following transaction:
Approval of bridging contract
Bridging ETH from Ethereum to L2
Approve the minting contract
Minting NFTs
However, if universal accounts are used, 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 its products. In addition, universal WaaS will 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 the Particle Network universal account to aggregate all on-chain liquidity and generate a single balance data. Simply put, universal liquidity is the cross-chain bridge solution of the Particle Network, which allows users to trade on any supported blockchain.
For example, let’s say 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 the user’s behalf 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.
General Gas
Source: Particle Network
One challenge facing multi-chain frameworks is gas payment. 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 making transactions through a universal account, Particle Network will prompt the user to choose which token to use to pay the relevant gas fee. The user can choose multiple tokens, or even tokens on multiple blockchains, to pay. These tokens will then be transferred to Paymaster, exchanged for Particle Network's native token PARTI, and used to settle relevant transactions on Particle Network. The Bundler node will then execute the relevant 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. It is often used to build custom application layers or state machines, while CometBFT is used to securely replicate the 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 is 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 (general accounts, liquidity, and Gas) are implemented through three main modules: the master key storage hub, the decentralized messaging network, and the decentralized Bundler.
Source: Particle Network
Master Key Storage Center
The Master Keystore Hub module acts as the central "repository of truth" for the Particle Network by synchronizing state changes of universal accounts on all supporting blockchains. In this way, the Master Keystore Hub can maintain state equality 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 of general accounts) on external blockchains to the Particle Network. The DMN is built on a system of relay nodes (node information hubs on the Particle Network). In addition, the DMN works in conjunction with the Master Keystore Hub to transmit state data to and from supported blockchains.
Decentralized Bundler
The Decentralized Bundler module is responsible for performing external user operations (UserOperations), 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 handles user actions related to signed transactions.
Bundler forwards user operations to liquidity providers and sends USDC on Ethereum, Optimism, and Arbitrum to the corresponding liquidity providers.
After receiving USDC, the liquidity provider sends the USDC on Solana to the user account.
The Bundler node executes transactions on the Solana DEX, converting USDC to SOL on behalf of the user.
Finally, the Watchtower node ensures that these interconnected modules are working properly by providing proof of execution or fraud proof for each block produced in each epoch.
Double Staking
Particle Network uses a DPoS consensus mechanism featuring a dual-staking system. Particle Network will utilize two different sets of validator nodes: one set verifies with Particle Network's native token, and the other verifies with BTC through the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon. The two sets of validators will reach consensus independently. The dual-staking system can enable cryptoeconomic security through verified crypto assets such as BTC and the network's own native tokens.
Aggregate data availability
Data availability is also one of the challenges that are integral to the blockchain space. Data availability refers to ensuring that all nodes have access to all the data needed to validate transactions and maintain the state of the chain. In addition, using only one data availability solution creates a single point of failure. If the data availability solution does not work properly, then the Particle node cannot guarantee the validity of the block. 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 will be randomly published in one of the following ways:
Selective publishing - Data associated with a block is published only to 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 that any single DA solution will not function properly.
Public Testnet
Particle Network's public testnet was launched on May 2, 2024. The testnet has two core functions of Particle Network: universal accounts and universal gas. Users can register for the testnet and use EVM wallets such as MetaMask or Rainbow to create a universal account as a signer of the relevant universal account. In addition, through Particle Network's BTC Connect, users can also use Bitcoin wallets such as Unisat or OKX to control universal accounts.
Users can test the universal gas functionality of Particle Network by depositing native tokens from supported test networks (ETH for Ethereum, BNB for BSC, etc.). 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 (UserOperations) associated with these transactions. It is worth noting that this is an early version of the universal 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 a Particle Network ecosystem project designed to guide projects and applications in the ecosystem.
Users earn points by sending transactions and paying for Gas using USDG. Each transaction earns 50 points, up to 100 transactions per day. In addition, users can earn extra points by signing in every day. The more consecutive days you send transactions, the more points you earn.
Particle Pioneer also provides additional points to Particle Pioneer NFTs holders (NFTs are specifically for testnet users and participants of previous activities). It is reported that there are three types of NFTs, and depending on the NFT, points can be increased by 2% to 30%.
To date, 1.3 million accounts have registered to participate in the Particle Pioneer campaign and earned $6.71 billion in PARTI points.
route map
With the launch of the Particle Network testnet in May, the protocol is one step away from the final mainnet release. The Particle Network roadmap is as follows:
Q2’24 - Adding universal liquidity and modular nodes to the public testnet
Q3’24 - Mainnet V1 launched, including general accounts, liquidity and Gas
Q4’24 - Testnet launch of double staking and AggDA
2025 - Mainnet V2 supports dual 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, such as 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 and BNB. Similar to Particle Network, NEAR also achieves chain abstraction through its MPC network and chain signatures and multi-chain gas relays.
Avocado 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 Paymaster gas tanks, allowing users to pay for all gas in US dollars. One major difference is that Avocado only integrates with EVM networks, while Particle Network also chooses to support non-EVM networks.
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 integrates accounts, signatures, fees, and interoperability directly at the protocol level. Key to this solution is 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 are then forwarded to and further coordinated by Particle Network's L1. XION is currently in beta with a mainnet launch scheduled for 2024.
Closing Summary
Particle Network meets the existing needs in the blockchain field 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 achieve 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 comprehensive approach and dual staking system make it a strong competitor in the field of chain abstraction design.