Particle Network is a development platform focused on Web3, designed to boost developer efficiency and speed up the mass adoption of Web3. Its core product is a login and wallet middleware based on MPC-TSS (Multi-Party Computation Threshold Signature Scheme) technology, which removes the need for end users to remember mnemonic phrases or pay gas fees, thereby greatly lowering the barrier to Web3 adoption.

To date, Particle Network has completed three rounds of financing. In May 2022, it raised $1.5 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Longhash Ventures. In March 2023, it secured $7 million in a round led by ABCDE Capital, followed by another strategic funding round.

Particle Ecosystem

Since the product launch in late October 2022, Particle Network has collaborated with hundreds of Web3 projects. The network has recently upgraded to include features such as wallet abstraction, chain abstraction, liquidity abstraction, and gas abstraction. Thus, in the chain abstraction sector, its strength remains in abstract wallets, primarily offering modular Smart WaaS (Wallet as a Service). To this end, Particle Network has introduced four main products to build its wallet ecosystem.

In terms of privacy protection, there is the confidential zkStack. On one hand, zkWaaS ensures the privacy and security of wallet logins, while on the other, the Paymaster mechanism is introduced via ERC-4337 to facilitate private transactions. By integrating the Intent Fusion Protocol, it aggregates both on-chain and off-chain data flows, enabling the use of Particle tokens as gas for transactions across all chains. Components like Particle Chain form the comprehensive chain account abstraction of Particle Network, supporting wallet account storage, management, transfer, and coordination.

Furthermore, Particle Network has released the MPC+AA wallet solution, offering a cross-platform SDK, creating a product matrix of MPC+EOA (Externally Owned Account) and MPC+AA (Account Abstraction) wallets. Besides wallet and login middleware, Particle Network also provides node services, data APIs, and full-stack NFT APIs/IPFS services.

Under the dominance of industry giants, Particle Network has shifted its focus to new areas such as BTC Layer 2 solutions, abstract wallets for GameFi, and smart wallets for SocialFi. Particle Network has laid the foundation for the $4 billion TVL of the Bitcoin Layer 2 network, @MerlinLayer2. Among Particle Network’s numerous collaboration projects, the gaming sector is the most diverse, including traditional gaming giants like FunPlus and Perfect World, as well as emerging Web3 gaming projects like Era7 and Ultiverse.

On March 20, Particle Network announced its upgrade to a modular public chain, constructing a universal settlement layer spanning both EVM and BTC ecosystems, referred to as BTC Connector. Notably, this is the first account abstraction protocol in the Bitcoin ecosystem, leveraging ERC-4337 design and an L2 EVM-compatible chain to introduce smart accounts, Paymaster, Bundler, and Bitcoin-specific patterns. This technology aims to enable all existing BTC wallets to control smart accounts on Layer 2, opening up extensive possibilities for dApps and further interconnecting BTC with the smart contract ecosystem.

Particle Network Layer 1 is supported by dual staking through @EthosStake provided by @eigenlayer. Its design employs a modular aggregated data availability (AggDA), incorporating @CelestiaOrg, @AvailProject, @eigen_da, and NEAR Protocol’s NEAR DA to achieve maximum decentralization, security, and performance.

The key to cross-chain elements is a decentralized messaging network. Particle Network Layer 1 utilizes the optimized DVN by @LayerZero_Labs and the custom ISM by @Hyperlane_xyz, relying on @IBCProtocol and @AcrossProtocol to achieve deep interoperability. To accelerate chain abstraction, Particle Network also collaborates closely with other industry participants focused on this goal, including the NEAR and CAKE development teams.

Once Particle Network Layer 1 is launched, partner dApps and users’ account assets and transaction settlements across various chains will seamlessly migrate to Particle Network Layer 1.

Development Roadmap

It is reported that Particle Network’s v1 testnet will go live in the second quarter, featuring functionalities such as wallet services, liquidity provision, and gas abstraction services. After the mainnet launch, Particle’s aggregated DA (Decentralized Application) and dual staking modules will debut in the testnet version and are expected to be integrated into mainnet v2 by the fourth quarter of 2024.

Currently, there are no detailed announcements regarding Particle Network tokens and their community distribution. However, the official statement promises an imminent release of this information along with specific plans to drive adoption.

Comparative Analysis of Modular Track

In the context of one-click chain deployment, the increase in the number of chains intensifies competition, highlighting the interoperability issues between chains. To address the complexities and compatibility challenges among these diverse chains, the concept of chain abstraction has emerged. Its goal is to hide these technical complexities and present a simple front-end UX interface to users.

In addition to launching BTC Connect, which allows users to connect directly to the EVM environment via Unisat, Particle Network’s underlying technology focuses on chain abstraction services. For example, building a modular L1 public chain infrastructure based on the Cosmos SDK enables Particle to connect to EVM environments, BTC UTXO environments, and Solana’s high concurrency environments.

The core of the chain abstraction service is essentially a plug-in interface expansion service. Optimizing and adapting the signature algorithm of the interface itself (CDK) is crucial. Over 60 chains, such as Bearchain and opBNB, have integrated this service. Particle provides a standardized chain abstraction service that can be directly integrated by partner projects. After integration, maintenance and optimization among the involved parties are essential. It is unrealistic to expect a single entity to handle all compatibility issues alone.

In simple terms, Particle is a typical modular layer1 public chain dedicated to solving the complex issues of chain abstraction. The essence of chain abstraction is “connection integration” and “heterogeneous compatibility,” with all the effort happening behind the scenes. This allows project developers to quickly and cost-effectively integrate and apply mature extension services, providing users with a seamless interactive experience.

Synternet

Synternet is a blockchain that provides modular and interoperable data infrastructure for all major chains. At its core is the Data Layer, a protocol that acts as a customizable execution layer between all blockchains. The Data Layer is designed to enhance efficiency, security, and interoperability, offering developers, organizations, and users a fully decentralized data exchange. By eliminating reliance on centralized services, Synternet enables fast and seamless access to both real-time and historical on-chain data.

The Synternet Data Layer protocol was created to facilitate the provision and access of blockchain data. While anyone on the Data Layer can publish all types of data, the protocol is specifically built for Web3 data. For major blockchain data use cases, full nodes connected to their respective blockchain networks can sell the data generated by these networks via Synternet. Users interested in building decentralized applications can purchase data using crypto tokens. This incentivized way of sharing and utilizing blockchain data is known as the Synternet Data Layer.

Through the Synternet Data Layer protocol, anyone can become a provider in the open market for Web3 data. Token holders determine which providers are reliable based on the quality of data they provide and their overall performance, and pay corresponding fees. The ability for data providers and consumers to transact is a unique feature of Synternet.

Clave

Clave is a non-custodial smart wallet supported by account abstraction and hardware-level security elements such as Secure Enclave and Android Trustzone. It aims to provide a user-friendly, comprehensive financial experience through hardware-level security elements like Passkeys, while also simplifying wallet creation and usage through account abstraction features. With Clave, users can create accounts with one click, receive and send tokens using links and nicknames, and even split bills with friends.

Clave utilizes Secure Enclave for key management. Secure Enclave is a dedicated isolated microchip within Apple chips, designed for secure data and operations. It not only ensures the protection of sensitive data like private keys but also facilitates biometric authentication processes such as Touch ID and Face ID, adding an extra layer of security. Transaction signing within the Secure Enclave occurs in a separate hardware environment, ensuring maximum security. It is isolated from the main components of the phone and can be accessed via biometric authentication. Secure Enclave is designed to protect users’ sensitive data from the rest of the phone.

To further enhance the user experience, Clave introduces the concept of sponsored transactions. This feature allows users to execute transactions without worrying about specific fees, making the process smoother and more user-friendly. Clave eliminates the requirement of holding Ethereum (or any native token) to pay for transaction fees, enabling users to pay with any ERC20 token of their choice.

In terms of security performance, Clave may surpass Particle. However, Particle focuses on BTC layer 2, GameFi’s abstract wallets, and SocaiFi’s smart wallets, which gives it a broader audience. Additionally, Particle offers not just wallet products but also a rich ecosystem. From the perspectives of audience reach and ecosystem, Particle might have the upper hand.

NEAR Protocol

NEAR Protocol is a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, conceptually envisioned as a community-operated cloud computing platform. Leveraging sharding and other technological innovations, NEAR significantly enhances the network’s transaction throughput. It is considered one of the highest throughput blockchains in the industry, with a finality time of 1 second and transaction costs lower than most competitors. Once its proprietary Nightshade sharding infrastructure is fully developed, NEAR claims it can process at least 100,000 transactions per second.

Since its founding in 2018, the NEAR ecosystem has been committed to realizing the vision of blockchain abstraction. It focuses on usability, a flexible account model, and a highly scalable blockchain capable of supporting mainstream applications with billions of users. By combining various technologies, NEAR creates a seamless process where users can create accounts with their email, use these accounts without funding them, and even control accounts across multiple chains.

NEAR achieves blockchain abstraction through a combination of Relayer (allowing developers to subsidize gas fees for their users), FastAuth (allowing users to create and recover accounts using their email addresses through multi-party computation), and multi-chain signatures. This combination of services creates a seamless user experience where users can interact with blockchain-based applications without realizing they are using blockchain technology.

While NEAR’s high throughput is its strength, it has not bridged the gap between the EVM and BTC ecosystems. However, Particle has achieved this with its “BTC Connect” technology, which connects BTC with the smart contract ecosystem, opening up more possibilities for new dApps.

In addition to these three, modular track projects are increasing. Projects such as Atleta Network, Nero Chain, Dymension, and Movement, which recently raised $38 million in funding, each have their unique features. For instance, Nero Chain uses the Paymaster mechanism in account abstraction to sponsor the gas fees for new users’ initial transactions, allowing them to explore the platform without incurring initial costs. Dymension introduces a paradigm shift in scalability, enabling future metaverse applications, games, and other high-throughput services to be customized according to their needs.

Particle supports multiple public chains, including EVM, BTC, and Solana. It has launched “BTC Connect” and upgraded wallet abstraction, chain abstraction, liquidity abstraction, and gas abstraction features. Ultimately, Particle Chain may become a one-stop solution for users and dApps, reaching a level that most modular protocols currently find difficult to achieve.

Project Outlook

Currently, the biggest obstacles to the adoption of Web3 are undoubtedly mnemonic phrases and gas fees. Particle Network is the industry’s first company to apply MPC-TSS technology to reduce the barriers posed by mnemonic phrases and gas fees.

By using Particle’s MPC login and wallet middleware, developers can allow users to directly log into dApps through various methods such as phone numbers, email, Google, Facebook, and Twitter. This process automatically creates an on-chain, non-custodial wallet without the need for users to worry about mnemonic phrases and gas fees, significantly lowering the barriers to entry for logging in and using the platform. This enhancement improves user experiences with subsequent blockchain interactions, including transfers, signatures, and authorizations.

In the future, Particle Network may become a full-stack middleware platform for developers, enabling them to focus on building business scenarios and increasing productivity, thereby making Web3 more accessible to billions of users.

The future of the chain abstraction track that Particle Network focuses on is shaped by the current complexity of the cross-chain native environment. Currently, we are still in an irrational period of prosperity brought by modular combinations’ complexity. The value of “chain abstraction” may not be apparent yet, but when competition among chains becomes intense and reshuffling occurs, the value of the chain abstraction track will naturally become evident.

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