In March 2018, Waltonchain was presented as a project combining radio-frequency identification (RFID) with blockchain records for supply-chain applications. This introduction describes the proposal and information available when the article was first published on March 7, 2018.
The project’s February 8, 2018 whitepaper, version 1.0.4, outlined a parent blockchain, business-specific subchains and a token called WTC. Its descriptions of the architecture and intended benefits were statements by the project team.
What Waltonchain proposed in 2018
The proposal connected identifiers on physical goods with digital records. RFID tags and readers were intended to collect information as products moved through manufacturing, warehousing, shipping and retail. Businesses could use subchains for their own applications, alongside a parent chain supporting WTC transactions and subchain management.
The original introduction described product tracking, inventory records and anti-counterfeiting as potential uses. It did not provide independent performance benchmarks or evidence that the proposed system had achieved those outcomes at commercial scale.
RFID tags and readers
RFID uses radio communication between a tag and a reader. A tag can carry an identifier or other information associated with an item. The reader obtains that information and passes it to a connected system. An RFID tag does not, by itself, connect an object to the internet or verify that every record about it is accurate.
NIST’s guidance on RFID systems distinguishes tags by their power sources and capabilities:
- Passive tags draw energy from a reader’s radio signal. They generally cost less and have shorter communication ranges than active tags.
- Active tags use an internal power source, usually a battery, to support their circuitry and communications. They generally cost more and require attention to battery life.
- Battery-assisted passive tags use a battery for functions such as circuitry or sensors while communicating through the reader’s signal. GS1 explains this distinction from active tags with their own radio transmitters.
How RFID fitted the proposed supply chain
The intended workflow associated tagged goods with records collected at different stages of a supply chain. The original article gave dispatch information, location and product attributes as examples. The whitepaper described separate subchains for applications, alongside the parent chain’s network-level functions.
Tracking records can help document a process, but the reliability of the record still depends on the goods, tags, readers and people entering information. The original claims about eliminating forgery, reducing costs and improving security should be read as proposed benefits, rather than independently demonstrated results.
The team described in 2018
The February 2018 whitepaper identified Xu Fangcheng and Do Sang Hyuk as initiators in China and Korea, respectively. It described Xu’s background in supply-chain management and listed business and industry-association roles for Do. Those descriptions belong to the historical document and do not establish their current positions.
The original article included this team introduction video:
Charles Walton and the project’s name
The project took its name from Charles Walton, an early contributor to RFID technology. The Lemelson-MIT Program’s account of Walton’s work describes his patents and the contributions of other inventors to the technology’s development.
WTC and exchange references in the original report
The February 2018 whitepaper described 100 million WTC being created in the genesis block. The original March 2018 article reported 25 million tokens in circulation and listed Binance, CoiNest, KuCoin, OKEx and CoinRail as trading venues.
These figures and exchange references are retained as historical reporting. This archive does not verify present-day token supply, trading availability, project operations or team roles. The original weekly price change and the unavailable three-month price chart have been removed.
For the associated directory entry, see CryptoSlate’s Waltonchain profile.
Archive note: Originally published March 7, 2018. Editorially revised November 1, 2026 to clarify its historical scope, correct RFID and biographical explanations, remove promotional predictions and unsupported assurances, and remove the unavailable price chart. The recovered portrait and generic RFID illustration have been retained.
Editorial credits
