Solana (Universal)

uSOL is a wrapped version of Native Solana on EVM blockchains which is issued on the Universal Protocol and is intended to mirror the price of Solana.

Solana is Layer 1 blockchain which boasts fast settlement speeds and low transaction costs.

The Universal Protocol is a wrapped asset protocol designed to enable trading for any token, on any chain.

The protocol is supported by three different key roles: Custodians, Merchants, & Users.

• Custodian: A trusted institution or party who assumes responsibility for securely storing the private keys that control the underlying cryptoassets.
• Merchant: An institution or party to whom the Network issues tokens. They have the ability to redeem Universal tokens for the respective underlying asset. Each merchant initiates the process of minting and burning tokens. 
• Users: The Universal token holders. Users transfer, transact, and perform any other activity that requires fungible tokens on the blockchain the token is issued on. 

Universal holds all reserve assets at Coinbase Custody.

Universal relies on an intent-based mint and burn system. This process ensures that the number of tokens issued for all Universal Assets, such as uSOL, are fully collateralized by the respective underlying asset held at the custodian.

Issuance:

• The merchant initiates the issuance process by sending a transaction to the token contract. which signals the merchant's intent to send underlying assets equivalent to the desired number of Universal tokens. 
• The merchant specifies the blockchain and address where they want to receive these tokens then the merchant transfers the corresponding underlying assets to the custodian.
• Upon receiving the underlying assets, the network verifies the received amount then creates a transaction to mint the new Universal tokens.

Redemptions:

• To redeem Universal tokens, the merchant must call the ‘burn’ function in the contract, specifying the amount of tokens to be burned.
• Once the function is called, the specified amount is deducted from the merchant’s Universal token balance on-chain, and the overall supply of Universal tokens is reduced accordingly.

Universal currently has over 20 tokens, also known as uAssets, currently available and plans on supporting more in the future. Some uAssets include uADA, uBCH, uDOT, uNEAR, uSUI and many others. Currently Universal has tokens on Base and Arbitrum but plans to expand their offerings in the future.

To see a full list, check out the related tokens section above.

Yes, Universal's smart contracts underwent a security audit by an independent smart contract security researcher in August 2024. You can view the full report and findings here.