Glossary

Some terms may need a little introduction with all this cryptocurrency, blockchain, and technological jargon. We try to keep it short and simple. Here they are.

General Terms

Blockchain

Blockchain is a unique design of a distributed Ledger. It’s essentially a growing list of records that are cryptographically linked. Blockchain on Wikipedia

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies are digital units of a currency that can be transferred person-to-person without requiring a third-party (payment processor) to facilitate transactions. It enables near-free, near-instant currency transactions that cannot be held up, blocked, reversed, or delayed by any party.

Decentralization

Decentralization is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Decentralization on Wikipedia

Decentralized Network

A decentralized network is a distributed network that runs autonomously. It doesn’t rely on a central server or database. Each participant of a decentralized network contributes to its well-being. Any communication, exchange of data, or trade is made directly between each user of the platform without any central authority facilitating the exchange.

Disintermediation

Disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in economics from a supply chain or “cutting out the middlemen” in connection with a transaction or a series of transactions. Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediary (such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent), companies may now deal with customers directly, for example, via the Internet. Disintermediation on Wikipedia

Distributed Ledger

A distributed ledger (also called a shared ledger or distributed ledger technology or DLT) is a consensus of replicated, shared, and synchronized digital data geographically spread across multiple sites, countries, or institutions. Unlike with a distributed database, there is no central administrator. DLT on Wikipedia

Node

A node is an individual device connected to a decentralized network such as a computer, VPS, or mobile phone. Each node contributes to maintaining, supporting, securing, and verifying the integrity of a decentralized network. The node itself automatically does these tasks with little to no input from the people running the nodes. Most users of a decentralized network access it through a node, whether that be directly (i.e., using one’s own computer) or through a third-party node (i.e., service provider).

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-peer (P2P) communication means two users can communicate without requiring any intermediary assistance (i.e., servers, database, host, etc.).

Sphinx

Sphinx is a tool that makes it easy to create intelligent and beautiful documentation. It was initially developed for the Python documentation, and it has excellent facilities for the documentation of software projects in a range of languages.

Tor

The Tor network is a free and open-source network that enables anonymous online communication. It protects your digital privacy by anonymizing your IP address. It does so by routing your connection through a vast and global network of volunteers. Tor’s intended use is to protect your personal privacy as well as your freedom and ability to conduct confidential communication. When enabled on Particl, it makes your node’s IP address entirely anonymous.

Particl Terms

Community Market

Community Markets are private by default, and only those knowing about its access keys can join them. The community market creator and owner can decide if publishing items on this market is limited to a group (storefront) or granted to anybody with access rights. Additionally, a market owner has the right to promote their community markets within the Market Browser for a limited time in exchange for a small fee.

Open Market

The Open Market is the main market on Particl Marketplace. It is enabled by default and is the only market you have access to when launching Particl Desktop for the first time. The Open Market is a general-purpose market where anyone can buy or sell anything with no particular theme.

Open Market Protocol (OMP)

The Open Market Protocol (OMP) is the back-end protocol that makes the Particl Marketplace possible. It is the framework that defines how marketplace transactions, orders, listings, and other key e-commerce functionalities are processed by the SMSG network and the Particl Blockchain. It is the “glue” that sticks everything together. If Particl Desktop is what people use to access the marketplace (the front end), the OMP is what makes it possible in the background (the back-end). To learn more about the OMP Library, head over to the Open Market Protocol Wiki page.

Particl

Particl is the brand of a decentralized network built using blockchain and P2P technologies. Depending on the context, “Particl” is used liberally to describe various of the decentralized network’s components which include a cryptocurrency, a decentralized marketplace, and other components. However, its main components are as follows:

Particl Blockchain

The Particl Blockchain is a decentralized, immutable, and censorship-proof ledger. It is based on bitcoin technology and has been carefully enhanced by the Particl team to provide a more robust level of privacy through industry-leading privacy technologies. The Particl Blockchain processes and validates payments between two users without requiring any third-party such as a bank or a payment processor.

Particl Bots

Describes a standardized snap-in functionality within the Particl Desktop client software to enable 3rd parties to offer their services in exchange for PART and automating tasks within Particl Desktop client.

As these services are not decentralized, they are not activated by default and need to be manually enabled by the user. Particl Bots can have various purposes, most of the time related to a service, such as providing cryptocurrency exchange capabilities, providing data (i.e., cryptocurrency prices), payment integrations, etc.

Particl Core

Particl Core is the software providing a direct connection to the Particl decentralized network. It provides users with all the functions and features of the Particl blockchain. It also acts as a gateway to allow applications to interact directly with the blockchain. Because it runs silently in the background of your computer, Particl Core may often be referred to as a daemon or “particld”.

Users can easily interact with Particl Core by either using its CLI client (commands on a terminal) or its graphical counterpart Particl-Qt.

Particl Desktop

Particl Desktop is the primary client of the Particl Project and is a user-friendly interface into the Particl network. It is the main point of access into the Particl ecosystem and lets users complete all basic activities one would expect to do on Particl. This includes making cryptocurrency transactions, using the Particl Marketplace, sending messages to other users, and so on.

Particl Ecosystem

It describes the whole of any value or participant within the Particl Project economic cycle. Thus, anything or anybody contributing or utilizing Particl’s economic model (Particl Coin) or any other Particl Application is a part of it.

Particl Marketplace

The Particl Marketplace is a decentralized marketplace that allows two users to buy and sell anything from each other without the assistance of any third-party (i.e., bank, payment processor, centralized marketplace, etc.). It is Particl’s flagship application and provides much more privacy, security, and freedom than typical marketplaces. Additionally, since it is decentralized, it charges no sales commission and other similar types of fees. Currently, it’s located within the Particl Desktop application.

Particl Network

The Particl Network consists of two technologies:

  1. The Particl Blockchain is a decentralized and immutable ledger based on bitcoin technology but carefully enhanced by the Particl Developers with industry-leading privacy technology. The Particl Blockchain secures and testifies payments, exchanging value in a decentralized way without the need for any banking system.

  2. Secondly, a data-layer named Particl SecureMessaging (SMSG protocol) is utilized as a decentralized storage network (DSN) to transfer data between nodes in a privacy-preserving manner. Particl SecureMessaging enables a privacy-proof environment for e-commerce with Particl Marketplace and communications between users without bloating the Blockchain and leaving permanent records.

Particl Project

The Particl Project refers to all combined efforts, people, and community contributing to the development, maintenance, promotion, and adoption of the Particl decentralized network. It is often simply referred to as “Particl” as well, depending on the context.

Particl SDK

The Particl Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of tools and documentation that enables independent developers to contribute to the Particl Ecosystem (any of its software, product, or service). Its purpose is to speed up the onboarding process of independent developers and streamline all the tools and knowledge they need to acquire to get started.

PPoS

Particl uses the Particl Proof-of-Stake (PPoS) consensus mechanism, which pays back interest in dividend-like payments to stakers in exchange for securing the network. PPoS offers many secure staking options that let you easily and quickly earn rewards without any of the security or financial risks typically associated with staking.

PPoS is also the protocol used to vote on proposals in Particl’s decentralized governance model.

SecureMessaging (SMSG)

SecureMessaging (SMSG protocol) is a decentralized storage network (DSN) to store and transfer data between nodes in a privacy-preserving manner. It enables a private and secure environment for e-commerce and communications between users. SMSG powers the Particl Marketplace without bloating the blockchain with excessive data and without leaving any permanent record.