Fully transparent stablecoin launches on Uphold
Uphold has announced a revolutionary stablecoin that aims to propel cryptocurrency into the mainstream. The stablecoin, known as the Universal Dollar (UPUSD), is issued by the Universal Protocol alliance (including some of the biggest names in crypto such as Brave, Bittrex and Cred) and will only be available on the Uphold platform.
UPUSD is the first stablecoin to be listed on Uphold, the payments platform, and is pegged on a 1:1 ratio to the U.S. dollar. It is also the first stablecoin of its kind to be minted on-chain with every verifying transaction written to the Ethereum public blockchain so that all users can see and verify UPUSD is 100% percent backed with U.S. dollars. U.S. dollars are held at banks located in the United States with the intention of being eligible for FDIC “pass-through” deposit insurance, subject to applicable limitations.
Launching first in Latin America, this stablecoin behaves like a mature financial asset with it being fully transparent and inheritable. Additionally, eligible holders of UPUSD can access a market leading annual return through Cred, an application available on the Uphold platform.
“The Universal Dollar shows that crypto is finally delivering on the promise of mass appeal,” said JP Thieriot, CEO of Uphold. “Especially relevant in developing economies, the protections, interoperability and financial services offers a number of benefits to Uphold members.”
Key features of the stablecoin include:
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Recoverability: Remembering a complex private key may be intimidating for the average bank account holder; UPUSD users can recover their private key and reclaim assets if needed
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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
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Full transparency: Every time a user purchases USD on the Uphold platform, they can initiate an exchange and request new minting of UPUSD. The new UPUSD is instantly minted on the Uphold reserve, and a record of this transaction is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain.
This stablecoin is the first in a series of tokens and stablecoins released through the Universal Protocol Alliance, a coalition of some of the industry’s finest, including Bittrex, Brave, Cred, CertiK, Blockchain at Berkeley, along with Uphold. This coalition demonstrates a desire to further the ecosystem, driving mainstream adoption while also building trust and creating a sense of legitimacy. It is a shared goal, that would not be possible by working alone.
