UPD — Universal Private Dollar

@permissionless-technologies/upd-sdk

UPD is a fully decentralized stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Unlike USDC or USDT, there is no admin key, no blacklist, and no issuer with the power to freeze balances. It is designed to be integrated as a settlement layer by fintechs, payment rails, and DeFi protocols that need USD denomination without counterparty risk from the stablecoin issuer.

You mint UPD yourself by depositing collateral — the smart contract is your counterparty, not a company.

npm install @permissionless-technologies/upd-sdk

The Difference From Every Other Stablecoin

USDC and USDT are issued by corporations (Circle, Tether) that hold the backing reserves in traditional finance. They are the legal counterparty. Because they exist as a legal entity with banking relationships:

• They can freeze balances on demand (and do — over 100,000 addresses blacklisted)
• Their reserves are audited by humans in tradfi venues, not verifiable on-chain in real-time
• They are subject to stablecoin issuer regulations because there is an issuer

UPD has no issuer. The protocol is the counterparty. You mint UPD by locking stETH into a smart contract. You burn UPD to reclaim that stETH. Nobody stands in between. No corporation holds the backing collateral. No entity can be compelled to freeze your balance.

This is what "private" means in Universal Private Dollar — private from the interference of centralized intermediaries, not private from the blockchain itself.

What the On-Chain Means

Transaction Privacy Is Separate

UPD by itself has no transaction privacy. Transfers are standard ERC20 events — publicly visible on-chain.

If you need transaction privacy, shield UPD into the Universal Private Pool (UPP). Inside UPP, transfers use ZK proofs and are indistinguishable from any other pool activity. This is opt-in and independent of UPD itself.

Mint UPD              → public  (ERC20 Transfer event, amount visible)
Transfer UPD          → public  (ERC20 Transfer event, sender/recipient/amount visible)

Shield into UPP       → public  (ERC20 Transfer in, amount visible — creates a private note)
Shielded Transfer     → private (ZK proof, no ERC20 event — sender, recipient, amount hidden)
Shielded Swap         → semi-private (swap amounts on-chain, but recipient identity hidden)
Unshield from UPP     → public  (ERC20 Transfer out, recipient and amount visible)

Burn UPD              → public  (ERC20 Transfer event, amount visible)

Who Benefits

What It Can Do

• $1 USD peg — hard-collateralized by stETH, on-chain verifiable at any time
• Standard ERC20 + EIP-2612 — works with any DEX, lending protocol, bridge, or wallet
• Permissionless minting — deposit stETH, receive UPD. No KYB. No issuer approval.
• UPP-compatible — shield into the privacy pool for private transfers
• Yield via sUPD — stake UPD to accrue stETH yield without selling

What It Can't Do (By Design)

• Cannot hide plain ERC20 transfers (those are public — use UPP for privacy)
• Cannot be frozen or blacklisted by any party
• Cannot be minted without overcollateralized stETH backing
• Cannot protect against severe stETH depeg (collateral risk remains)
• Cannot offer user support or chargebacks — you are responsible for your own keys and collateral

Differentiator vs Other Stablecoins

*DAI has an Emergency Shutdown Module that can freeze the system.

Get Started