If you're a regular reader, then you will be aware that we covered the Soma ICO in a previous article. And in that article we touched upon Soma's newly announced partnership with UTRUST. For those that might need a reminder of what the UTRUST project is all about, you can find our review article on the subject here.
What we didn't elaborate upon in our initial article on Soma was the precise details of that partnership - because they were still being ironed out. We spoke with the project leads again at Soma recently who have provided us with an update to that end. And with this new information at hand, we are thinking that the promise for this ICO has grown.
We have decided, then, to go into a little bit more detail into that partnership.
Soma, as a reminder, is a project that is setting out to create a platform which facilitates the digital tracking of physical objects in the real world. UTRUST, on the other hand, is conceived as a payment platform that seeks to nudge the masses into crypto-adoption by allowing retailers or individuals to sell goods and services in a way that provides buyers with the option to interface with the sale in either fiat or crypto. Obviously there's a little bit more detail to it than that but the idea is there.
What makes UTRUST a perfect fit for Soma are 1) the escrow and trust mechanisms offered by UTRUST, and 2) UTRUST's dispute resolution mechanism in the event of a disagreement between the two parties.
Naturally, both advantages bring a boon to a Soma-economy that is likely to include very well defined niches that range from antiques, valuable art and vintage motorcars to any other pre-owned types of goods with enduring value.
The consumer then is granted double-glazed protection: from the UTRUST side, transactions between parties are imbued with trust thanks to its escrow services. From the Soma side, its patent-pending IIC card (Interactive Item Card) ensures that the risk of counterfeited goods now finds itself practically eliminated.
From a commercial aspect, if Soma is seen by some as the Blockchain eBay, and others see UTRUST as the Blockchain PayPal, we are looking at a Blockchain product from Soma that combines the best of the two and becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
Consumers will be offered a more seamless retail experience in the pre-owned goods markets, along with more transparency by a platform that will serve as a comparatively inexpensive alternative. No more intermediaries picking up commissions, and no more exorbitant fees associated with the more traditional third-party transaction management mechanisms.
The Soma project - and others like it - are going to be necessary if the world is going to adopt the new benefits brought by Crypto currencies and general Cryptographic technological breakthroughs. The current entry into the Crypto eco-system has a high barrier - and appeals more generally to the technically-inclined (or, at least, the not so easily intimidated).
The Soma and UTRUST partnership are paving the way for mass adoption - those who are comfortable with the old-style of doing things can continue to do so: they can pay with their credit card but still enjoy the benefits brought by the Blockchain.
Those, on the other hand, that are happy to engage with Cryptocurrencies will have themselves rewarded for doing so. And that is the kind of incentive that Blockchain technologies need to incorporate for the world to finally go crypto...
