Established in 2018, UMA was created by Allison Lu and Hart Lambur, who both previously worked as traders at Goldman Sachs. Their mission was to create a decentralized, secure, accessible, and equitable financial environment worldwide.
The team was inspired by traditional financial derivatives to establish an open-source protocol. This protocol allows anyone, regardless of their location, to develop trustless financial contracts.
What sets UMA apart?
Oracles are essential components of blockchain technology, facilitating trustless interactions between off-chain data and on-chain systems. They are crucial for decentralized finance (DeFi) and various Web3 applications.
UMA features an optimistic oracle that operates on a "true unless challenged" principle. When a data request is made, anyone can suggest an answer. This answer is accepted as accurate unless it is contested within a specified period, determined by a vote from token holders. Unlike price-feed oracles, which deliver immediate and immutable price streams on-chain, UMA's optimistic oracle involves human judgment.
The development of this optimistic oracle concept traces back to 2014, when Vitalik first discussed it. Over the years, multiple iterations have been made. This design allows for human insight, which is crucial for Web3 projects requiring complex data that isn't easily codified.
Today, UMA's optimistic oracle facilitates unique and flexible dispute resolutions, accommodating any kind of query or data with human involvement, unlike price-feed oracles that simply transmit regular price updates.
How many UMA tokens are in circulation?
As of September 2022, the total supply of UMA tokens was 108,858,567, with 68,947,415 tokens circulating.
UMA tokens have been traded on prominent exchanges for several years. They provide economic assurance to protocols utilizing UMA's optimistic oracle. UMA's community of token holders plays a crucial role by engaging in voting to finalize disputes or address queries within the oracle. Additionally, tokens are used for voting on protocol updates and distribution of UMA DAO funds. Active and precise participants are rewarded with a yield.
How is UMA's optimistic oracle safeguarded?
UMA's Optimistic Oracle relies on three key participants: the contract that requests the data, the individual who provides the data, and the disputant who can contest the data if they find it incorrect.
In the event of a dispute, UMA token holders are tasked with resolving it within a 48-hour timeframe. If the disputant is correct, they receive a portion of the deposit from the proposer as a reward; if they are incorrect, they forfeit their deposit, part of which is awarded to the proposer. The voting process in the oracle consists of three stages: open voting, confirmation/reveal, and a period for claiming rewards.
Rewards accumulate as they are claimed, and once claimed, the tokens are transferred to the user's wallet, increasing their voting power with each successful vote.
UMA's smart contracts are primarily intended for developers creating decentralized applications. Any UMA token holder can engage with UMA's optimistic oracle. Built on Ethereum, UMA tokens can be stored in wallets like Metamask, Trezor, or Ledger, which must be connected to the UMA voting Dapp to participate in voting.
All of UMA's oracle contracts have been thoroughly audited by OpenZeppelin, as well as the contracts for Across Protocol, Outcome's Optimistic Governor, Optimistic Distributor, and others.
Where can you purchase UMA?
You can buy UMA tokens on most major centralized crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase, as well as decentralized platforms like SushiSwap and Uniswap.
