Counterparty is a platform for user-created assets on Bitcoin. It’s a protocol, set of specifications, and an API. Taken together, it allows users to create and trade assets on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain. In this way, Counterparty is similar to platforms like Waves or Ethereum. Of course, the difference is Counterparty integrates directly with Bitcoin. Therefore, it comes will all the security and reliability (and issues) that are part of the Bitcoin blockchain. This is a fairly old project. In fact, it pre-dates Ethereum with its launch in 2014. It was the original asset creation mechanism. As you’re probably aware, Counterparty has faded from prominence over the years. This is largely due to the rise of the ERC-20 token standard on Ethereum. While we’ve become used to calling blockchain assets, tokens, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. An asset can represent anything that has value or is rare. As a result, Counterparty steers clear of the word “token” in their marketing and documentation. They’re much more interested in digital assets of all kinds, not just currencies, securities, and utility tokens. Digital assets can be a digital marker of a physical object, an easy way to manage shares in your company, or reputation karma for a website. These are all types of assets you could create on Counterparty (or Ethereum or Waves, for that matter). Counterparty creates the set of rules, requirements, integrations, etc that are necessary for assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. It’s the infrastructure behind user-created assets in much the same way that the ERC-20 protocol sets up guidelines and standards for asset creation on Ethereum. One useful function of digital assets is as a marker of ownership or voting rights. Imagine a scenario where you issued a digital asset to each of your company’s board members in proportion to the amount of voting power held. Or if you gave your stockholders a digital asset as a marker of the amount of stock they owned. If you issued your stock asset, you could then use Counterparty’s distribution function to pay out dividends in BTC based on the amount of digital stock asset each person owned. Counterparty addresses many of the same issues as Ethereum or Waves, but on the Bitcoin blockchain. While that does come with some advantages, ultimately it is not as strong a platform for development as its competitors. It’s best suited for applications that need to interface with Bitcoin or assets that have a specific connection to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

A Counterparty wallet is a digital or physical tool that stores your public and private keys. These keys are needed to access and control your crypto assets. The wallet doesn't store the actual coins but lets you interact with the blockchain. It’s the gateway to sending, receiving, and safeguarding your Counterparty.

Open your Counterparty wallet and select “Send.” Paste or scan the recipient’s wallet address, enter the amount of XCP, and confirm the transaction. Once confirmed, the recipient sees the funds in their wallet.

Go to the “Receive” section in your Counterparty wallet. Copy your wallet address or use the QR code. Share it with the sender. After the transaction is broadcast and confirmed on the blockchain, your wallet shows the updated balance of XCP.

It’s a unique string of letters and numbers linked to your wallet’s public key. Others use this address to send you XCP. Think of it like your crypto account number; it tells the network where to send the funds, but it doesn’t give access to your private key.

To securely store your Counterparty, consider using a hardware wallet like Cypherock X1. It splits your private key into five cryptographic parts across secure components, ensuring your funds stay safe even if you lose one, two, or even three parts.

Yes, modern hardware wallets like Cypherock X1 support thousands of coins and tokens, including Counterparty. You can manage your entire crypto portfolio across multiple wallets and blockchains seamlessly.

With Cypherock X1, your private key is split into five secure parts. As long as you have two parts of the hardware components (an X1 Card or the X1 Vault), you can recover your Counterparty even if the other three parts are lost.

Look for tamper-proof smartcards, EAL6+ certification, offline verification, and decentralized key storage. Cypherock X1 offers all of these, ensuring bank-grade security for your Counterparty.