Overview
Waltonchain (WTC) was launched in early 2018 with the aim of supporting the Internet of Things with a blockchain based identification systems. We feel that the project is worth an introduction as it is one of the more interesting projects that has surfaced this year. The main reason while we made the research into the project is WTC just recently gained a new major exchange listing, Huobi.Pro added the token on the 12th of July, so we wanted to dig a bit deeper to see what’s so special about it.
Waltonchain has been named after Charlie Walton who was the inventor of RFID technology, which also gives us a hint on the function of the ecosystem of the project. The blockchain network will use several chains to function, with the parent chain being the actual Waltonchain that uses WTC as a native currency. Next up are the child chains or sub chains, which will serve a specific purpose in the ecosystem.
The project aims to revolutionize supply chain management with the help of the parent chain and the theoretical infinite sub chains, these will build up the software foundation of the project. The hardware foundation will consist of RFID tags (chips) and RFID readers that will supplement the data needed for the chain to function as a sort of tracking and validating medium. RFID readers will act as nodes on the blockchain and chips will serve with the information needed. When scanning the chips or tags, anyone that takes part in the supply chain will be able to read the complete history if an item without the fear of someone else tampering with those as the blockchain with the product history will be publicly accessible by anyone. Waltonchain is unique in the sense that they even created and produce their own unique RFID chips and these chips contain hash values, as they own built-in memory, meaning that these can’t be tampered with.
So turning back to the software, the parent chain of the network is handling the transactions of WTC, manages sub chains and executes smart contracts as well. Any merchant or venture can create their own sub chain and create their own token as a result. The main reason why creating sub chains is beneficial for businesses is that they can create their own consensus rules and also can customize the chain for the specific business. Waltonchain could be possibly used in any service or business process that takes part in several locations thus building a chain of events like manufacturing/production, clothing, storage, storefronts or logistics.
Imagine a clothing sub chain (and business) that will be supplied with information from the complete logistics process starting from production, storage, logistics all the way to the store. Every time a product enters or leaves one of the facilities or vehicles, the RFID tag will be scanned and data will be uploaded to the sub chain. The validity of the data and the working mechanism of the sub chain will be controlled by a smart contract from the parent chain.
A thing to note here is that Waltonchain has already launched its main network back in the first half of 2018, but the token swaps are still a WIP as the chain gets additional testing and features implemented.
Team
The Waltonchain team is built up with highly experienced developers and entrepreneurs originating from Korea mostly. Core members come from highly respected companies and ventures including NHTECH (Subsidiary of Samsung SDI), Nokia, Microsoft, Korea Sungkyun Technology Co., ZTE and more. The professional knowledge of the team comes from fields like blockchain, communication technology, RFID, SOC architecture, AI, integrated circuits, engineering, etc.
Angel investors include Song Guiping, President of Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Korea and representative of Ping An International Co.; Qiu Jun, Vice President of Shenzhen Shanwei Chamber of Commerce; Yan Xiaoqian, Chairman of Kaltendin Clothing and Executive Vice President of Shenzhen Shanwei Chamber of Commerce; Lin Jingwei, who has worked for several large state-owned enterprises in China.
Partnerships
Ishijah trading – intelligent food and beverage management systems mostly located on airports
China Telecom – Citylink, an affiliate of Waletochain, is working with one of the largest telecom companies in China to develop smart communities
China Chemical Information Center (a Government body) – Waltonchain’s RFID technology will offer tracking and logistics capabilities for the Chinese Chemical Industry.
IoT Connectivity Alliance – Alibaba Group formed the IoT development group which Waltonchain joined back in April
Korean Standards Association – Partnership for blockchain development and education
Jinhu, China Government – air purification and monitoring system
There are just a few partnerships that have been announced legitimizing Waltonchain’s efforts to build a competent blockchain ecosystem.
Our take
Our take is that Waltonchain seems like a solid project. The team (which also have experience and power in areas that could boost Waltonchain’s use) and the partnerships have to potential to give the project a kick-start and also a lead against projects that aim to have a similar use-case. There is some note-worthy competition in the field, namely VEN and Wabii, but Walton offers much more than a simple software solution as they also design and manufacture their own chips, thus guaranteeing a future-proof solution for businesses deciding to use them.
Even though 2018 was so far an unlucky year for most Altcoin investors as the bull run peaked in January/February and most projects consolidated since then, with a little exception of April – May when a good number of projects attempted another run, we believe that this could be the time to handpick the projects that could offer value in the future.
As an added bonus we took the time to analyze the WTC chart:
WTC has been consolidating from the February highs and after a short lived bounce continued a downtrend in the form of a falling wedge (blue).
Averaging into WTC here with some funds could be a good idea in case the project sparked some interest as the recent break-down threw the price into the first historical resistance/accumulation range (orange). Stop-loss at 7650 could protect the investment in case the current zone breaks down.
Another potential good entry would be at the bottom of the falling wedge right around the top-side of the last historical resistance / accumulation range (orange). This is safer, but albeit there is no guarantee that it will hit. This closely depends on Bitcoin’s price actions in the following weeks.
Averaging in is always a good idea if one believes in the fundamentals of a project, but it is important to always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and have an escape plan in the form of stop-losses.
Project links
Website: https://www.waltonchain.org/
Whitepaper: https://www.waltonchain.org/#white_paper_cont
Exchange: Huobi.Pro