A coalition of blockchain organizations, including Uphold, Cred, Blockchain at Berkeley, and Brave, announced a universal transparent reserve and custody standard that introduces ‘proxy’ digital assets to the world via the Universal Protocol Platform (UP Platform). The UP Platform, which recently announced early backing by a group of institutional investors (Dekrypt Capital, Alphabit, Arrington XRP Capital, led by FBG Capital), serves as the hub for the creation and management of ‘proxy’ tokens and user features that will drive mass user adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Currently, digital assets like bitcoin and ether exist on separate blockchain platforms and cannot interact with one another. The UP Platform looks to solve this issue and allow all cryptocurrencies to become accessible on a single network through the introduction of proxy tokens, which are a digital representation of their underlying asset and can exist on other blockchains. Using these Proxy Tokens, the UP Platform creates a common universal language that allows distinct blockchains and token-based projects to interact freely and frictionlessly with each other. This technology enables Proxy Bitcoin, for example, to exist on Ethereum and be reasoned with directly by Ethereum’s preponderance of decentralized applications, decentralized exchanges and smart contracts.
The UP Platform will also enable decentralized exchanges to offer tokens previously unable to reason with each other, and private custody of any digital asset with a highly-secure wallet option. For everyday users, the platform introduces safeguards that render cryptocurrencies significantly more practical and convenient to own, such as private key recovery, inheritability and loss assurance.