Bancor is a blockchain protocol that allows users to convert between different tokens directly as opposed to exchanging them on cryptocurrency markets. The project offers a network, which we’ll discuss soon, that works to bring liquidity to the majority of tokens that lack a consistent supply/demand in exchanges. That network is built on smart contracts and a new class of cryptocurrencies that the team calls “Smart Tokens.” Bancor is looking to provide support to the illiquidity that currently exists within the cryptocurrency market. Illiquidity isn’t so much an issue for top coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum because there are always buyers and sellers looking to exchange those coins. It is definitely an issue, however, for the thousands of other tokens that may serve legitimate decentralized purposes but haven’t attracted enough attention in the market to be liquid. Bancor’s protocol uses smart contracts to create Smart Tokens, which serve as an alternative mechanism for trading. A key characteristic of the protocol is that it doesn’t call for an exchange of tokens with a second party, as in the case of cryptocurrency exchanges. Rather, it employs Smart Tokens to convert between different ERC-20 tokens internally. These conversions take place through the blockchain’s protocol and completely outside of cryptocurrency exchanges. Smart Tokens process token conversions internally by holding reserves of other ERC20 tokens within their Smart Contract. They can then convert back and forth between those reserves as users request it. The Bancor team consists of a core Foundation Council and their Advisory Board. The Foundation Council includes four individuals based out of Zug, Switzerland. Bernard Lietaer is a Belgian civil engineer, economist, author, and professor. Lietaer specialized in monetary systems and promotes the notion of communities creating their own local currencies. Guy Benartzi serves as co-founder and is recognized for founding the gaming company, Mytopia. Benartzi also co-founded Particle Code, a development studio based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Guido Schmitz-Krummacher is an executive of the Bancor Protocol foundation that’s involved with a variety of commercial entrepreneurial ventures in Switzerland. His involvement in the crypto space includes that of Bancor as well as an executive position in crowdfunding network, Tezos (XTZ). One of the key elements of the Bancor Network is the automated pricing. This comes from the Smart Tokens’ built-in automated market makers. These automated market makers mean that the tokens’ smart contracts always buy or sell Smart Tokens from or to any user in exchange for any connector token (as well as any token found in the network). The price comes from the Bancor Formula. This formula that is responsible for balancing a Smart Token’s demand and supply while also maintaining the ratio between the token’s total value with the connector token balances. The creator of the Smart Token configures these ratios, known as the connector weight. The creator can adjust them with the goal of decreasing or increasing the liquidity level of the token. The connector weight indicates price sensitivity, or how much sells and buys affect the price movement. Any time the prices no longer syncs with prices listed on external exchanges, the arbitrageurs will quickly balance the gaps.'
Particl is an open-source and decentralized privacy platform built on the blockchain specifically designed to work with any cryptocurrency. It allows decentralized applications (Dapps) of all sorts to be built within a secure, highly-scalable environment and be integrated directly into Particl’s flagship wallet: Particl Desktop Particl's mission is to foster a new decentralized, private and democratic economy supported by its platform and native currency (PART). All the fees generated by the platform are paid to the PART coin holders who are securing the network. PART is a privacy coin built from the Bitcoin Core codebase and is always updated to its latest version (currently 0.16.0). Capitalizing on the latest Bitcoin codebase not only allows the Particl platform to benefit from both Bitcoin’s stability and security, but also enables developers to leverage and easily fork any product, service and technology development from the Bitcoin developer community. Particl Cold Staking is enabled by smart-contract functionality and lets users securely delegate staking powers to “staking nodes” which contain no coin. The purpose of these “staking nodes” is to provide a dedicated resource connected to the Particl blockchain and stake on behalf of another wallet without being able to spend its coins. In other words, it allows users to stake offline coins. Particl's decentralized marketplace is built with privacy at its core and offers a low-cost, secure and scalable e-commerce experience. Designed to work with almost any coin, it uses several privacy-enhancing features such as default private transactions, encrypted data, secure messaging, IP address anonymization, metadata stripping, private listings and more. It is exclusively governed by the Particl community which also earns all the fees generated by the marketplace. Particl is designed so that users can easily use and build decentralized applications that can then be integrated directly into Particl Desktop. These applications foster the decentralized, private and trustless Particl economy and are built using native privacy smart-contracts. PART can be sent as three different privacy states, each with their own degree of privacy and cost: Public, Blind, Anonymous. Each state has a purpose within our privacy platform and also provides the user full control of the linkability and traceability of their transactions. Particl is the first coin in history to deploy these privacy protocols on a Bitcoin Core codebase. The Particl platform accepts a wide range of cryptocurrencies and provides maximum privacy at the same time. By using atomic swaps and third-party integrations, all incoming currency transactions are automatically converted into PART, Particl’s native currency. This way, you can use your favorite cryptocurrency while being protected by PART’s powerful privacy features.