These are exciting times for Solana. While the price has just reached a new all-time high, some projects are starting to see the light of day. The UXD protocol is one of them and has just announced a $3 million fundraising. Unlike Tether (USDT) or USD Coin (USDC), UXD is not backed by a dollar reserve but by multiple cryptocurrencies.
UXD protocol, integrated with Solana, raises $3 million
The weeks follow each other and are similar for Solana (SOL). After having reached the 100 dollars, largely exceeded since then, some associated projects are starting to make news. This is the case of the UXD protocol, which was previously called Soteria, and which is exclusively designed on the Solana blockchain. The founders have indeed just announced that they have raised $3 million.
This round was led by Multicoin Capital, an investment fund specializing in projects involving digital assets. Other venture capitalists, such as Alameda Research, CMS Holdings or Defiance Capital, participated in the fundraising of the UXD protocol.
The founder of the project assured that the funds will be used in particular to recruit developers and more generally to strengthen the team. They will also be used to launch the protocol’s testnet in September and the mainnet in October.
UXD stablecoin’s lack of volatility guaranteed by an algorithm
Unlike other known stablecoins such as USDT or USDC, UXD is not guaranteed by US dollar alone but not an algorithm. This means that the protocol uses multiple crypto-currencies as collateral and the algorithm takes care of the allocation between each crypto-asset to maintain stability.
Initially, the protocol will only use Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and SOL as collateral. For those in the know, UXD is equivalent in operation to MakerDAO’s DAI, which also uses an algorithm to maintain stability.
This algorithmic approach is more risky than using fiat currency as collateral, as the value of the cryptocurrencies used can plunge overnight. The FEI protocol, for example, saw the value of its algorithmically-backed stablecoin plummet last April.
The founder of the UXD protocol does not deny the difficulties that algorithmically backed stablecoins can cause. However, he believes that it is the lack of a 100% guarantee that has not allowed the stability to be maintained. And he believes that UXD has found the right solution: the neutral Delta position.
UXD, the first true decentralized stablecoin?
The UXD protocol could also be the first true decentralized stablecoin. Indeed, despite growing popularity and a perennial presence in the top 10 largest capitalizations, both Tether and USD Coin are centralized protocols.
Beyond the lack of trust in the two entities controlling USDT and USDC, it is rather the regulatory side that may be of concern. For example, Tether has recently had some problems with the American justice system and Circle, the entity behind the USDC, has preferred to play it absolutely transparent in order to prove the solidity of its stablecoin.
Despite its algorithmic nature, DAI is heavily dependent on USDC, which accounts for more than half of the collateral according to Dai Stats. Yet, we know that centralized stablecoins are used a lot in decentralized finance (DeFi), which is a bit of a contradiction.
Can a fully decentralized stablecoin overshadow the giants USDT and USDC in DeFi? That remains to be seen.
Fundraising as SOL continues to break records
While the two pieces of information are not related, this fundraise is one more piece of positive news for Solana. SOL’s price has exploded since July, rising from around $20 to over $140, and hitting a new record almost every day.
All signals are green for Solana and, barring a stock market or cryptocurrency price crash, it’s hard to see the exponential growth of the price stopping overnight.
