Why can't money be universal?

The article argues that new technology now makes universal money possible, though adoption is the remaining challenge. It says decentralized digital ledgers, Bitcoin in particular, have created a borderless financial infrastructure for the first time, but Bitcoin's base layer is too slow for everyday use. It presents the Universal Money Address (UMA) Standard, built on Bitcoin's Lightning Network, as a usability solution that works like an email address and enables cross-border currency conversion, such as sending dollars and receiving pesos. The article notes that a universal system still needs buy-in from wallets, banks, and exchanges, and that regulatory, integration, and trust barriers could slow it.