Universa is a blockchain cryptoprotocol with an emphasis on tokenization and contractual agreements. It uses a contract execution machine and a distributed state ledger.

The Universa Nodes primary function is to execute contracts and verify state. In Universa, permission to create new blocks comes from participation as a licensed node. Therefore, rather than waiting for a new block to be mined, a state change can occur at any time, verified by a trusted player, and approved by consensus. Each separate contract maintains its own chain of state (Smart Contract Chain - C-chain), so a contract can perform actions asynchronously without blocking or affecting other contracts, and the combined changes of state collectively form a directed acyclical graph (“DAG”) that makes up the blockchain itself.

UTN is the token powering Universa's ecosystem. Execution of Smart Contract actions requires transaction fees paid in UTN to reward participating nodes. Universa holds the right to “burn” up to 1% of the fees retained by the platform daily.