The Universal Protocol Stablecoins — Safest of Harbors
As global markets roil and traditionally safe assets have been rocked by instability, many are looking to crypto for signs of life. While many crypto assets have seen tremendous shifts in value, stablecoins are about to show their worth to the global community.
However, not all stablecoins are created equal; most stablecoins are completely intransparent, and cannot prove their value is backed up by whatever underlying asset they have pegged themselves too.
Universal Protocol has revolutionized the stablecoin sector through its vision of targeting the world’s existing 2.5 billion bank accounts, and not just the existing 30 million crypto users. The stablecoins that Universal Protocol has released have been designed with the broader global market in mind, with new features and tools never-before-seen in crypto.
UP Stablecoins like Universal Dollar (UPUSD) and Universal Euro (UPEUR), are a radical shift away from the traditional crypto stablecoin because they offer the greatest utility of all: cheaper credit, higher yields, and real-time, granular transparency for anyone, anywhere (except OFAC sanctioned countries).
The UP Stablecoins & Tokens
Universal Protocol has released three UP Stablecoins and Tokens since the launch of the Alliance in 2018: UPUSD, UPEUR, and UPBTC. The first two are stablecoins pegged to their respective currencies (US Dollar, EURO, and Bitcoin). UPBTC is technically a proxy token, but it has the same 1:1 value substantiation, transparency, and code base of one Bitcoin.
UPUSD
Universal Dollar is the world’s first true stablecoin that can prove it is fully reserved 1-to-1 with ‘real’ U.S. dollars held at FDIC insured, U.S. domiciled banks. UPUSD has the potential for holding customers to earn interest, and provide access to cheap credit. It has been engineered to include a transparent on-chain ‘look up’ of the underlying dollar assets.
UPEUR
Universal Euro was the second stablecoin released by Universal Protocol, and represents a fully-reserved 1-to-1 Euro. UPEUR is aimed at consumers looking to hold assets in Euros, and looking for low volatility and a competitive annual rate of return.
UPBTC
Universal Bitcoin is the first UP token to be pegged to an existing cryptocurrency. This proxy asset is designed to expand the usability of blockchain’s highest valued, and most globally recognizable cryptocurrency and can earn a ten percent annual return on CredEarn.
What’s Different about UP Stablecoins
Universal Protocol began this journey by thinking boldly about what the global cryptocurrency markets were missing.
On-chain transparency of platform reserve with transaction ID logging
Unlike other Stablecoins, we flood the collateralization process with daylight and don’t operate a Black Box’. We give customers verifiable confidence that they are buying a fully-reserved Universal Dollar.
UPP employs a transparent system of minting Universal Proxies to demonstrate that all Proxies are fully collateralized on a 1-to-1 basis by underlying assets in reserve bank accounts.
For example, when a new Universal Dollar is minted by a deposit of a ‘real dollar’ into the Universal Protocol Platform — via an integrated exchange — the underlying transaction is assigned an identifier from the ACH/SEPA network, plus the date, time and custody location of the underlying asset. This identifier is published on the Ethereum blockchain and provides a clear audit trail for the precise dollar funding of every Universal Dollar issued — allowing true on-chain reserve asset lookup and discovery and further verified by third-party audit firms twice a year.
CertiK is advising on auditability and transparency
There will be another set of eyes verifying that what is published on-chain is supported by off-chain claims. Up-to-date information of how and where assets are backed will be published in a transparent form and formally verified by PwC.
Universal Protocol offers new user safeguards
- Private Key Recovery: users can recover funds should they lose their Private Keys. The key will be split into multiple shares and the corresponding address embedded into the wallet. When two out of three constituents (wallet owner and one of the third parties) agree to recover the shares, the assets can be ‘called’ from the lost wallet.
- Inheritability: users can nominate beneficiaries who may ‘call’ the assets after prolonged account dormancy. The exact period of dormancy and the address will be configured during wallet instantiation.
- Detachability: users can ‘delegate’ control over their assets to a centralized exchange in order to facilitate a temporary trading session. After a session, the user can immediately take back custody and hold them in the safety of their private wallet.
Dynamic code generation
The Universal Proxy ‘Factory’ employs smart contracts to generate proxy tokens in a generic fashion. If you trust one proxy token instantiation, you can trust all proxy token instantiations since the underlying code is dynamically generated and is the exact same from the factory.
Key Benefits
Every UP Stablecoin and Token has unique advantages for instrumental actors in the global economy.
For financial institutions, the platform solves the technical and custodial challenges of supporting multiple cryptocurrencies on bespoke blockchains: the UPP model provides a single standard compatible with any Proxy Token representing any tokenized asset. As a result, institutions will only have to write their business logic once, for Ethereum, in order to support any cryptocurrency, radically simplifying the integration process.
For retail investors, the platform provides access to substantially better economics on a first-time, globally uniform basis, and creates a more practical and ‘spendable’ way of holding cryptocurrencies. For example, users can borrow in fiat currencies against their Proxy Token holdings, a giant leap forward for the industry. Proxy Tokens also make cryptocurrencies far less risky to hold by introducing many of the safeguards associated with mature financial assets, such as fund recovery and easy inheritability.
For centralized exchanges, the platform dramatically streamlines the process of listing new cryptocurrencies, currently an expensive and time-consuming task that can take weeks, if not months, of work. After the introduction of the Universal Protocol, exchanges will only have to add Ethereum ERC-20 support once in order to list Proxies representing any cryptocurrency or other tokenized asset class.
For innovators, the UP Platform provides the freedom to create bespoke blockchains for specific projects, since it makes any blockchain readily compatible with the widely-adopted Ethereum network and its ecosystem of smart contracts, DApps and decentralized exchanges.
Deriving Real Value From the Token Economy
The Universal Protocol Platform was designed to ensure that value — ranging from tokenized real estate to digital fiat currency — can be instantly sent, shared and converted across blockchains to create a decentralized network of finance. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to expand — with the potential to encompass trillions of dollars in assets — the need for interoperability is becoming ever more acute.
This is why we aren’t finished. UPUSD, UPEUR, and UPBTC were just the start. We intend to create UP stablecoins and tokens for additional high value fiat currencies and high value cryptocurrencies, in order to increase the interoperability of all tokenized assets.
*NOTE**: The information herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell, and shall not be deemed a solicitation of an offer to buy, any tokens. UPEUR, UPUSD, and UPT are not available in all jurisdictions. Any offering or sale will be made in compliance with the laws of relevant jurisdictions, including those of any countries which prohibit the sale of digital assets or cryptocurrencies or who are located, organised or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of country-wide or territory-wide sanctions. CredEarn is not a deposit relationship. Interest accrues on amounts actually borrowed by Cred, and is calculated on a simple interest basis based on the number of days and amount of the assets borrowed. Not all customers will be able to participate and not all funds may be borrowed. Persons who affirmatively opt in to the service. Additional terms and conditions will apply.
Additionally, we are excited to announce that one of the world’s most well known cryptocurrency exchanges, Bittrex Global, has listed UPUSD, UPEUR, and UPT on their international cryptocurrency exchange starting March 19, 2020.
