Alongside team secures $9 million ‘strategic investment’ from a16z, others in Universal token project

Universal, the crypto project building a new wrapped token standard, has closed a $9 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, according to pseudonymous co-founder 0xGaut. The team first decided to create “uAssets” — a method of bridging liquidity across different blockchain networks — as a solution to a problem they encountered while building the passive crypto index investment platform Alongside.Unlike traditional wrapped tokens that require users to lockup an asset in a smart contract before bridging a derivative product over to a new chain, uAssets use a “burn and mint system” and centralized custodian — in this case, Coinbase Custody — to create 1:1-backed tokens. Wrapped assets, onchain tokens representing an off-chain or cross-chain asset, are one of the most popular ways of solving fragmented liquidity in a multi-chain world by creating standardized, redeemable representations of assets across different networks. uAssets are designed to bridge liquidity across different, often incompatible blockchain networks, enabling users to trade tokens from one blockchain such as SUI, Ripple or Dogecoin on networks where they do not natively exist, like Base and Solana. The protocol relies on permissioned DeFi-native market makers to mint and burn uAssets. Additionally, because trades are routed via Coinbase Prime, uAsset liquidity is based on Coinbase's depth. “We’re as much of a developer tool as we are a product for end users to more easily get exposure,” Austin Diamond told The Block in a direct message, noting that the product is not just for traders. Developers can introduce over 80 tokens to their protocols using the Universal Relayer API.“Right now DEXs like Aerodrome are supporting uAssets, lending markets like Morpho can enable things like users getting leverage on uAssets and we have a few other protocols announcing new products built on top of them next week,” Diamond said. The protocol is live on the Polygon, Arbitrum and Base Layer 2s, with a plan to scale to all EVM chains and “beyond EVM very soon,” he added. Since going live last fall, the trading volume of uAssets has spiked to $900 million. Diamond noted that the team started working on the project in mid-2024 and released a beta version in August. The team recently redid its front-end UI and launched a proof-of-reserves product showing underlying assets being stored by Coinbase. The Alongside platform, the team’s initial focus, raised an $11 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz in February 2023, with additional backing from investors like Coinbase Ventures and Franklin Templeton. The move is notable considering the slower pace at which a16z is investing in crypto projects.Diamond noted that this latest “strategic round” is “reflective of the shift to Universal,” despite the cap table remaining the same. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.