Introducing Umee — the Cross Chain DeFi Hub
We are excited to announce the Umee network, a Cross Chain DeFi protocol for connecting between different blockchains.
Our current crypto ecosystem is disjointed. There are pockets of liquidity across many different blockchains that work in silos. Yields are disconnected across ecosystems and capital still counts on centralized components to flow across networks. In order to fulfill the broader vision of interoperability between blockchain networks, there needs to be a Cross Chain DeFi hub to facilitate this activity. Welcome to Umee.
Background of Umee
Umee was born out of an environment where DeFi was determined to be the most innovative concept in crypto. With contributions from advocates in both the Cosmos and Ethereum communities, the idea was to create broader cross chain defi markets where assets on one blockchain could be used to interact with assets on another blockchain. Initially implementing a cross chain borrowing and lending framework, this vision has evolved to encompass broader forms of DeFi and open finance.
Umee is built by blockchain infrastructure engineers, software architects, protocol researchers, defi strategists, TradFi apologists, and an open source network of contributors that wish to see the next generation of crypto innovation.
Cross Chain Infrastructure
Umee will utilize the IBC protocol that was created out of the Cosmos ecosystem. The protocol acts as a standardized transport, authorization, and ordering layer between blockchain networks, and is a layer 0 protocol that connects between all fast finality networks.
Additionally we will utilize bridge technologies such as those being developed through the Gravity Bridge project. A key consideration of Umee will be to expand the DeFi activities between Cosmos and Ethereum while introducing additional composability with other protocols. This will be accompanied by a strong emphasis on Ethereum compatible technologies such as Ethermint for facilitating the EVM on top of Tendermint consensus as well many implementations of Ethereum bridging technologies. Our hope is to interoperate with multiple networks beyond Cosmos and Ethereum as we’re expanding the Cross Chain DeFi universe.
Capital Facility
Through the implementations of bridging solutions, Umee will create a universal capital pool for cross chain assets. We want to see new worlds of opportunities in both proof of stake networks as well as DeFi.
One area that the Umee team is very excited about is interchain staking and delegation. We are experimenting with novel liquid staking components to allow IBC assets from one network to be used towards delegating and staking on another network. Once we build such components, we expect to see more ideas around cross chain staking derivatives that can interact with the overall DeFi ecosystem.
Umee DeFi
A new world of DeFi will be created on top of the Cross Chain DeFi Hub. Imagine markets for Cross Chain interest rates where rates on one network will be influenced by the DeFi environment on another network. This will also introduce Cross Chain staking rates where proof of stake consensus will further influence what it means to create a rate in crypto. A lasting contribution to the overall ecosystem will also be the concept of the time value of a crypto asset, as term structures of interest rates can be created using cross chain assets and proof of stake.
Next Steps
Umee is currently undergoing rapid research and development around the networks to support and the DeFi primitives to implement. The team will launch the platform once architecture and protocol design are safe and well audited. Additionally, community participants will be able to interact with our protocol through the Umee token and participate in governance and help define the long term vision of Umee together.
Stay tuned for more progress on Umee development at: https://github.com/umee-network/umee
And please follow us for updates on Twitter:
@Umee_CrossChain
