Universal Passport gives devs and users access to multiple blockchains

A public blockchain ecosystem has unveiled a Universal Passport that it believes will solve one of the industry’s biggest challenges: interoperability.

Nervos says that its technology is compatible with existing standards, meaning that users who want to move assets from one network to another — or use apps based on different blockchains — will no longer need to contend with multiple interfaces and multiple identities.

The company’s co-founder, Kevin Wang, told Cointelegraph: “We want to meet users where they are instead of asking them to get used to the interfaces that fit into the underlying plumbing or infrastructure.”

Key elements of the Universal Passport — described as the beginning of Interoperability 2.0 — include a layer that sits on top of Nervos’ public blockchain infrastructure, enabling developers to create applications that are naturally multi-chain.

“PW Core allows you to build applications that are accessible to all users on different blockchains. For example, with an application built on Nervos through PW Core, you can reach users on TRON or EOS or Ethereum. All they have to do is use their existing wallets,” Wang explained.

An Ethereum compatibility layer known as Polyjuice also enables developers to seamlessly move existing smart contracts from the Ethereum blockchain so they can run on Nervos — preserving the investment that they have already made in their applications.

What it means for users

Wang told Cointelegraph that this means that Bitcoin and Ethereum users can now operate Nervos applications directly from their existing wallets, without having to go through the inconvenience of downloading new software, acquiring tokens and remembering seed phrases.

But the executive said that there is a much bigger picture to the Universal Passport, one that will enable everyday consumers to access Nervos applications through the web browsers they currently use. “For them, Nervos just complements their existing internet — and brings this decentralized world to the internet,” Wang explained.

In time, Nervos hopes that it will become a natural way of onboarding internet users to blockchain technology — something that’s regarded as crucial given how the web has a much broader base of users.

“Nervos is a fully decentralized world that provides an almost centralized-like user experience,” Wang added.

Why is the Universal Passport needed?

Nervos believes that the future of the decentralized economy is going to be built on multiple blockchains — some specialized, some general. In the fullness of time, these platforms will come together to form an internet-like public network — but for this to be effective, it needs to be far easier to move assets from one chain to another.

However, there’s a problem with some of the most well-known interoperability solutions that already exist in the marketplace, as they are only effective as long as blockchains are built using their toolkits. There also need to be substantial improvements when it comes to the user experience, as there’s a lack of wallets that can talk to multiple blockchains. If you’re an ETH user who also needs to use BTC, you’ll need to download a Bitcoin wallet.

“Creating new standards trying to unite existing standards never worked out too well in the past,” Wang said. “Instead, we need to think about how to be compatible and support existing standards.”

Overall, Nervos is trying to change the status quo in the crypto industry — and move the narrative away from the idea that there is a one-horse race to be the only blockchain solution. As the space continues to mature and expand, multiple networks will be needed — and the marketplace will be far healthier if they can interact with each other effortlessly.