Some traders who are looking at big cryptocurrency gainers this week are looking at a coin called Waltonchain (WTC) that moved over 5% higher against the dollar in recent trading. Its current value is at $1.22, with a market cap of over $750 million.
The first thought many traders will have when being introduced to this somewhat obscure coin is that it’s an invention of the Walton family who remade American commerce in their image.
But when you dig deeper, the story becomes a lot more complex…
First of all, Waltonchain wasn’t named after the Walton family – it’s attributed to Charlie Walton, the creator of radio frequency ID technology.
Why did Mr. Walton receive this honor? Well, Waltonchain is not just a digital payment coin – it’s a supply chain tool for an industry obsessed with cold chain logistics and verifiable tracking for deliveries. The specific role of Waltonchain, as explained by experts, is the managing of supply chains using Internet of things technology.
Through tools like consensus mechanisms and sub chains, Waltonchain accomplishes key proof-of-work and proof-of-stake standards for cryptocurrency transaction data.
So if it’s not named after the Waltons, and it’s not branded with Walmart, does Waltonchain still have a relationship with Walmart?
Over at Capital Coin, you can see an article from August noting that Waltonchain has a “strong partnership” with Walmart in addition to other companies like Alibaba and Tencent – writer Dobrica Blagojevic also accuses WTC of “bad communications” with investors.
You can also see that Waltonchain is in some senses affiliated with the Chinese government.
However, going back to the beginning of this year, you see media outlets reporting that Waltonchain is NOT in partnership with Walmart China or any other Walmart entity.
Adrian Mathiau at CryptoCrimson calls rumors of the partnership “an example” and shows how the pub had previously reported the following:
“It is safe to assume that Walmart China is likely to make use of Waltonchain’s technologies to improve their logistics services – however, more details in the partnership are likely to emerge over the next couple of days.”
This mis-step proves the old adage about assumption.
You can perhaps understand the confusion for newbies who don’t have a nuanced view of how Waltonchain works. After the initial research, when you figure out that it’s not a captive Walmart coin, you see errant Internet headlines with vague chronology that suggest that Waltonchain is ‘in a relationship’ with Walmart China. Then you get disclaimers and corrections saying that it’s not.
It’s also a big deal because many cryptocurrency traders are not on board with investing in the Walmart empire. We’ve heard for decades about how the aggressive practices of this bottom feeding retailer have driven small businesses from American towns and led to thousands and thousands of full-time workers going to the state office to access public assistance.
If this is any indication of how Walmart would create its own captive coin, quite a few principled and educated traders would want none of it. It’s probably better that this supply chain coin has a broad array of partnerships and an independent course.
Keep an eye on Waltonchain value as you also track Bitcoin and EOS and the big players in the cryptocurrency space.