Written by: Haotian
In the spirit of being concise yet impactful, I will quickly comment on the significance of @ParticleNtwrk launching the brand new 'chain abstraction' application trading platform, UniversalX:
'Chain abstraction' serves as a mainstream continuous narrative after modularization, aiming to achieve a paradigm shift from the current infrastructure split to enhanced user application experience. However, many people cannot intuitively perceive the significance of this transformation and even label chain abstraction with various 'misinterpretations.'
The UniversalX trading platform is a product born out of this background. Since the B-end concept cannot intuitively resonate with everyone, it simply launches C-end application products to drive 'intuitively.'
Essentially, it has completed a narrative upgrade from 'protocol' to 'end' by speaking with good products.
UniversalX is a chain-agnostic trading platform supported by universal accounts. Functionally, it advocates for upgrades in user experience levels such as 'one account, one balance, any chain, no bridges, any gas, fiat access,' and more.
What seems simple is actually the result of abstracting complex chains, funds, and interaction environments. For example, 'one account, one balance' implies the need to unify access to various isomorphic and heterogeneous chains and manage centralized balance scheduling. Users may not perceive the complexity, but the underlying protocol scheduling and control layer must tackle a significant amount of cross-chain interaction communication and other challenges.
Therefore, UniversalX is not a product that can be perfected in one go; it will continue to optimize various small details in subsequent iterations. It is difficult to achieve perfection from the start, as the Crypto field always presents new complexities that need to be 'abstracted' and handled.
The strategic significance of UniversalX is vast, directly impacting the two mainstream industry formats of 'decentralized wallets' and 'centralized CEX.'
Taking custodial wallets as an example, most wallets differentiate themselves through 'function' variations, but they merely serve as a control panel for users to manage assets, unable to truly rise to the level of a user 'entry.' The reason is that the functional differentiation of wallets can also create a tearing of user experience smoothness, which is difficult to change in the past development environment that prioritized 'heavy infrastructure, light applications.'
The approach of UniversalX, which aggregates various basic functions and unifies user experience from the outset, will truly have a trend of 'entry' and pose a threat to the moat of decentralized wallets.
The impact on centralized CEX is easier to understand. A product like UniversalX, which is functionally close to CEX but fully based on the on-chain environment, will ride the wave of on-chain DEX gradually surpassing CEX during a major profit period. The final outcome is uncertain, but lowering the participation threshold in the on-chain environment to a level that can stand alongside CEX is sufficient.
It is not hard to see that this is a new species that starts anew under a narrative of 'chain abstraction,' aimed at upgrading user experience, based on application 'ends.'