Standard Chartered's SC Ventures and Deutsche Bank have achieved a momentous milestone, marking the successful completion of the first Proof of Concept (PoC) for the Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN).
This pioneering initiative is poised to redefine the landscape of digital payments by establishing connectivity across various Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and blockchain networks, akin to the messaging system employed by Swift.
What is Proof-of-Concept (PoC)?
In the world of cryptocurrency, a POC is a bit like a test run for a new cryptocurrency or a feature within a cryptocurrency.
It is a way for developers and creators to try out their ideas and see if they actually work before launching them to a wider audience.
Let us say someone has an idea for a new cryptocurrency that they believe is faster and more secure than the ones that already exist.
Before releasing it to the public, they might create a smaller version of their cryptocurrency to test if it is as fast and secure as they think.
This smaller version, the PoC, helps them find out if their idea is practical and if it actually provides the benefits they claim.
Unveiling the UDPN Trial
In a bid to showcase the potential of UDPN, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures and Deutsche Bank embarked on a comprehensive trial.
At its core, SC Ventures established a development ecosystem, harnessing UDPN Software Development Kits (SDKs) and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to forge decentralised identities and interconnect digital currency wallets.
Following seamless onboarding, SC Ventures executed multiple transfers and swaps involving synthetic USDC and EURS (Stasis Euro stablecoin) assets to Deutsche Bank's digital currency wallets.
These transactions, bearing the digital signature of SC Ventures' private key, materialised in real-time, with their pathways visible on public EtherScan.
Conversely, Deutsche Bank reciprocated by initiating multiple transfers and swaps to SC Ventures' digital currency accounts, using a user-friendly graphical interface seamlessly integrated within its exclusive UDPN environment.
Rafael Otero, CTO & CPO of Deutsche's Corporate Bank division, stated that:
“The industry pilot on the UDPN platform is an opportunity to investigate and research how we can enable our clients to actively participate in the decentralised future global economy and benefit from applications that are built on top of the network."
This collaboration between two financial juggernauts hinged on UDPN business nodes, interfacing with the UDPN permissioned Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) consensus network.
The transmission of payment messages traversed through two transaction nodes, each supporting USDC and EURS transactions respectively, thereby exemplifying how UDPN has the potential to expedite cross-border transactions from a matter of days to mere minutes.
This breakthrough also addresses the ongoing challenge of interoperability among various technologies within the cryptocurrency realm.
The UDPN trial, the first in a series of 12 PoCs, was dedicated to unravelling the interoperability puzzle in cross-border payments, while documenting key insights pertaining to CBDC, digital assets, custody, and compliance, among other facets.
Thorsten Neumann, CTO of SC Ventures, expressed his delight:
"We are pleased to partake in the first industry pilot on the UDPN platform. This initiative brings the industry together to identify opportunities to unlock economic value in newly emerging digital currencies. Tokenised forms of currency will inevitably become a part of the new financial landscape."
Ongoing Evolution of UDPN
The UDPN trial orchestrated by SC Ventures and Deutsche Bank marks just the inception of a transformative journey.
UDPN's roadmap includes a dozen PoCs, each exploring distinct use cases, such as enabling banks to issue deposit tokens for client use and facilitating interbank wholesale settlement.
Another pivotal PoC delves into supporting gasless transactions on a public blockchain.
As the UDPN initiative advances, it has the potential to usher in a paradigm shift in the realm of cross-border payments.
Its focus on security, compliance, and interoperability makes it a riveting development in the ever-evolving landscape of digital currencies and financial technology.