A group of industry players are attempting to bring blockchain to the masses with their new Universal Protocol. A group effort, the protocol so far encompasses at least two notable tokens. One is a new stablecoin, and the other is a BTC token that can be used on Ethereum.
Universal Protocol Alliance
The Universal Protocol alliance, according to an e-mail received by Bitstarz News, seeks to:
[…] draw in the next 100 million new users into the cryptocurrency world by creating digital financial products that can be easily used by anyone anywhere in the world.
The alliance includes Bittrex International, Uphold, a company called Cred, and others. To date, it has released a few tokens: UPUSD, UPEUR, and UPBTC. The first two are stablecoins tied to the dollar and the Euro, while the third is a way to access Bitcoin on the Ethereum blockchain.
While it’s not the first time this has been done, it might be the first time it’s been done in a way intended to target mass adoption.
The protocol allows for more tokens to be added. Everything on it relies on another token, the UPT. According to the same e-mail, more tokens will be added.
Through the UPT, the companies want to create “new types” of digital assets. This could mean the issuance of real estate on the blockchain, and other non-standard applications of an immutable ledger.
“A Transformational Development”?
On their website, the alliance calls its product:
[A] transformational development for the entire blockchain industry, allowing new types of digital assets to be created and all cryptocurrencies to be convertible on a single network.
At time of writing, it was still unclear what new tokens and types of assets the project would decide to issue. Nevertheless, it comes at a time that bank-issued stablecoins are beginning to become a reality, which could put a clock on the stablecoin industry as a whole. Therefore, the project will need to bring more to the table than new stablecoins.
While it’s not the first project to bring Bitcoin and other assets to the Ethereum blockchain, the Universal Protocol may be the first with ambitious user adoption goals.
Documentation on the website catalogues a few use cases for the Protocol:
The ecosystem opens up a new world of tokenized digital assets – ranging from Proxy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, to Proxy fiat currencies like USD, to Proxy Private Equity – and facilitates the instant and seamless conversion of different forms of value over a single blockchain, using smart contracts to reduce dependence on centralized exchanges.
Demand for on-chain trading is certainly not slowing down. Exchanges like Cryptopia weigh in the minds of traders, who would prefer a technical solution that doesn’t force them to trust exchanges.
That’s what on-chain exchanges can do, although occasionally they get in trouble, as in the case of EtherDelta.
It would seem the Universal Protocol could be applied to other use cases as well, but currently they’re focused on providing on-chain liquidity. Giving users quick access to dollar and BTC tokens does the job without forcing the user to trust anyone. For users who prefer a world where code is law, this type of solution will be ideal.
