What Is WaltonChain?

Social media is abuzz with talk of a new project called WaltonChain. Until 24 hours ago, it appeared very few people even knew this project existed. It appears WaltonChain aims to capitalize on the Value Internet of Things business model. This also means there needs to be a way to bring blockchain technology to IoT. WaltonChain is the obvious result, and its development roadmap between now and 2020 is impressive.

An Overview of the WaltonChain Initiative

For a project that has been around since November of 2016, WaltonChain has not made any big fuss by the look of things. That is surprising, considering its business model could be quite successful if executed properly. Bridging the gap between blockchain technology and the Internet of Things can effectively create a new business ecosystem. It also shows how distributed ledger technology can be used for other purposes than financial products, record keeping, and providing proof of authenticity.

WaltonChain aims to create a “genuine, believable, traceable business model with totally shared data and transparent information.” That is an ambitious goal, but one that is not unattainable. Whether or not we need a separate blockchain for this specific purpose will always be subject to substantial debate. Rather than building something new from scratch, one could utilize existing solutions to serve that purpose. 

On the WaltonChain roadmap, we see some pretty interesting developments. The genesis block of this chain will be created in October of this year, at which time ownership of Walton coins will be determined. The project held its ICO back in July, which could explain why there is so much interest in the project suddenly. Most of the big developments will be taking place over the coming 24-30 months, though. A lot of promise exists, but delivering on expectations is something else entirely.

Other reasons for this sudden excitement regarding WaltonChain range from a project member attending a BRICS meeting to the whitepaper having been released in English. There was also a recent Forbes article which highlighted some of the key points of this and similar projects. Though monetizing the Internet of Things will not be an easy task, the WaltonChain team feels they can do so without major issues. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. There is a lot of uncertainty regarding this project and how it will be tackled, but we will find out more over the coming months.

The team behind WaltonChain appears to be solid, but that is never a guarantee for a successful project. Its chief scientist allegedly holds 30 patents related to chip and semiconductor technology. He also wrote around 160 recognized papers on these subjects, which is quite an achievement. Then again, the best ideas can be derailed by poor execution, and thus we will have to wait and see how WaltonChain performs. It does appear the local government is in support of the concept as well.

WaltonChain is an interesting project, but it is still too early to tell whether or not its goal can be achieved. The Value Internet of Things is a vast initiative, which will take years – if not decades – to fully unlock in the future. There will be a fair bit of competition as well. WaltonChain is not the only player in this regard, and the initial hype may have something to do with the ICO and upcoming token distribution more than anything else. No one may be talking about this project a year from now, for all we know.