Counterparty (platform)
{{short description|Cryptocurrency platform}}
{{Update|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Counterparty
| screenshot = File:Counterparty.svg
| caption = Counterparty logo
| author = Adam Krellenstein, Evan Wagner, Robby Dermody
| developer = Adam Krellenstein, Ouziel Slama
| released = January 2014
| latest release version = 10.10.0 (February 2025)
| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/CounterpartyXCP/counterparty-core}}
| programming language = Python, Rust
| operating_system = Cross-platform
| license = MIT
| website = {{url|www.counterparty.io}}
}}
Counterparty is a DeFi platform and Internet protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.{{cite journal|last1=Seijas|first1=Pablo Lamela|last2=Thompson|first2=Simon|last3=McAdams|first3=Darryl|s2cid=12808341|title=Scripting smart contracts for distributed ledger technology|journal=Cryptology ePrint Archive|year=2016|publisher=IACR Cryptology ePrint Archive 2016|url=https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/1156|access-date=2022-07-29|archive-date=2022-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816214652/https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/1156|url-status=live}} It was one of the most well-known "Bitcoin 2.0" (later known as non-fungible token) platforms in 2014.{{cite web|publisher=Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-28/bitcoin-2-0-shows-technology-evolving-beyond-use-as-money|last=Kharif|first=Olga|date=2014-03-28|title=Bitcoin 2.0 Shows Technology Evolving Beyond Use as Money|access-date=2019-06-28|archive-date=2019-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629090119/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-28/bitcoin-2-0-shows-technology-evolving-beyond-use-as-money|url-status=live}}
History
In July 2014, Counterparty was part of a plan by Overstock.com to issue and trade legal securities on a blockchain.{{cite magazine|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-07-06|title=Overstock's Radical Plan to Reinvent the Stock Market with Bitcoin|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/overstock-and-cryptocurrency/|last=Metz|first=Cade|date=2014-07-30|archive-date=2019-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624112150/https://www.wired.com/2014/07/overstock-and-cryptocurrency/|url-status=live}} The initiative, originally named "Medici",{{cite book|last=Swan|first=Melanie|title=Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy|publisher=O'Reilly Media|year=2015}} eventually became Overstock's tZERO.{{Cite news|last=Vigna|first=Paul|date=2018-11-23|title=Overstock's Founder Bets on Blockchain, Not Bedsheets|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/overstocks-founder-bets-on-blockchain-not-bedsheets-1542969001|access-date=2021-03-23|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=2020-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127203254/https://www.wsj.com/articles/overstocks-founder-bets-on-blockchain-not-bedsheets-1542969001|url-status=live}}
In November 2014, Counterparty added support for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to the Counterparty protocol, allowing all Ethereum decentralized applications to be run on the Bitcoin blockchain within the Counterparty protocol.{{cite web |last1=Vigna |first1=Paul |last2=Casey |first2=Michael J. |date=2014-11-12 |title=BitBeat: Bitcoin 2.0 Firm Counterparty Adopts Ethereum's Software |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/11/12/bitbeat-bitcoin-2-0-firm-counterparty-adopts-ethereums-software/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706194614/https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/11/12/bitbeat-bitcoin-2-0-firm-counterparty-adopts-ethereums-software/ |archive-date=2019-07-06 |access-date=2019-07-06 |publisher=Wall Street Journal}}
In early 2024, after a hiatus in development, some core developers returned to fix long-standing issues with stability, correctness and performance of the Counterparty reference implementation, and to prepare for future feature development.{{cite web | last=Emblem Vault | title=Counterparty Updates v10.0.0 by The Vault | website=Spotify for Podcasters | date=2024-03-23 | url=https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevaultpod/episodes/Counterparty-Updates-v10-0-0-e2hflpa | access-date=2024-04-29 | archive-date=2024-04-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429015226/https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevaultpod/episodes/Counterparty-Updates-v10-0-0-e2hflpa | url-status=live }}{{cite web | last=Krellenstein | first=Adam | title=April 16, 2024 | website=Counterparty | date=2024-04-16 | url=https://www.counterparty.io/post/counterparty-development-update-april-16-2024 | access-date=2024-04-29 | archive-date=2024-04-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429015226/https://www.counterparty.io/post/counterparty-development-update-april-16-2024 | url-status=live }}{{primary inline|date=April 2025}}
Technology
Counterparty's native cryptocurrency, XCP, was created during January 2014 by 'proof of burn', which was purported to be an alternative to a crowdsale or 'initial coin offering' (ICO).{{cn|date=April 2025}} The initial creation of XCP through this process involved sending about 2140 BTC, worth between US $1.6 million and US $2 million at the time, to a provably unspendable Bitcoin address.{{cite web |author=Alex Brokaw |date=2014-04-16 |title=The People Who Burn Bitcoins |url=http://www.minyanville.com/business-news/editors-pick/articles/The-People-Who-Burn-Bitcoins-bitcoin/4/16/2014/id/54627 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429075927/http://www.minyanville.com/business-news/editors-pick/articles/The-People-Who-Burn-Bitcoins-bitcoin/4/16/2014/id/54627 |archive-date=2014-04-29 |access-date=2014-04-26 |publisher=Minyanville}}
From its launch in 2014, the open-source Counterwallet (Web) was the primary Counterparty wallet, maintained by the Counterparty team themselves until July 2024 when it was officially discontinued.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
The original Counterparty explorer, Blockscan, was created by Matthew Tan in early 2014. In 2017, Blockscan.com shut down and relaunched as the Ethereum-based explorer Etherscan.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://counterparty.io}}
{{Cryptocurrencies}}
{{Portalbar|Internet|Economics|Free and open-source software}}
{{Authority control}}