Welcome to Wanchain

Temujin Louie

Published in

Wanchain

7 min readApr 23, 2021

We are all connected.

Please note: This article is meant as an introduction for newcomers and may be periodically updated.

What is Wanchain?

Wanchain’s mission is to drive blockchain adoption through interoperability. We do so by building cross-chain infrastructure that connects the world’s many siloed blockchain networks. The purpose of this infrastructure is to empower developers to build decentralised cross-chain applications that power the future of Web3.

Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure comprises both a sustainable Layer 1 proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain and a decentralised wide area network of blockchains. The Wanchain Layer 1 PoS blockchain is a full Ethereum-like environment that works with industry-standard Ethereum tools, DAPPs, and protocols. Wanchain uses a Proof of Stake consensus algorithm called Galaxy Consensus that leverages a variety of cryptographic schemes including distributed secret sharing and threshold signatures to improve random number generation and block production mechanisms. Galaxy Consensus, developed by world-class researchers and academics, is a continuation of Cardano’s Ouroboros. Wanchain’s wide area network of blockchains is a decentralised system of direct, non-custodial cross-chain bridges that connect both EVM and non-EVM networks without requiring any centralised intermediaries. These bridges use a combination of Secure Multiparty Computation (sMPC) and Shamir’s Secret Sharing to secure crosschain assets. Currently, nearly 30 Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks are connected by Wanchain’s wide area network of blockchains.

What problem is Wanchain solving?

Blockchain technology represents a new paradigm, but too many blockchain networks are repeating the mistakes of the past. Each blockchain — or, in some cases, cluster of blockchains — exists as a siloed, isolated network.

Wanchain, along with our partners, is solving this problem by standardising one of the most important areas in blockchain: cross-chain communications. We are focused on enabling code and nodes on a blockchain to call code deployed on a different blockchain, and where appropriate, receive a response.

Today, Wanchain provides developers the ability to transfer assets from one blockchain to another blockchain, the ability to send and receive messages across blockchains, and the ability to initiate actions across blockchains. These capabilities allow for more complex scenarios involving multiple blockchains.

Wanchain’s solutions work in the context of public Ethereum blockchains, consortium blockchains, optimistic rollups, zk rollups, non-Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchains and other blockchain-like systems.

How is Wanchain secured?

Wanchain’s PoS Validator Nodes reach consensus using a proprietary Proof of Stake consensus algorithm called Galaxy Consensus. It is a continuation of Cardano’s Ouroboros. Nodes need to stake $WAN tokens before they can validate transactions on the network. For detailed information about the Galaxy Consensus, please read the whitepaper.

What blockchains are supported by Wanchain’s wide area network of blockchains?

Wanchain has been building its crosschain infrastructure since 2017. It’s first mainnet cross-chain bridge route launched in 2018. In early 2021, Wanchain launched the world’s 1st decentralised Bitcoin — Ethereum direct bridge. Wanchain offers decentralised, non-custodial bridges connecting:

Arbitrum
Astar
Avalanche C-Chain
Bitcoin
BNB Chain
Cardano
Clv
Dogecoin
Ethereum
Fantom
f(x)Core
Gather Network
Horizen EON
Litecoin
Metis
Moonbeam
Moonriver
OKC (OKX Chain)
Optimism
Polkadot Relay Chain
Polygon
Telos
Tron
Vinuchain
Wanchain
XDC Network
XRP Ledger

All of the assets minted by Wanchain’s decentralised cross-chain bridges are overcollaralised by s unified decentralised collateral pool, maintained by Wanchain’s Bridge Nodes.

Note: More networks are always being added to our wide area network of blockchains. Please visit https://www.wanchain.org/ for an up-to-date list.

What are Wanchain Bridge Nodes?

In addition to regular PoS Validator Nodes, Wanchain features Bridge Nodes, sometimes called Storeman nodes. Bridge Nodes are responsible for performing and verifying cross-chain transactions.

Bridge Nodes must all stake WAN tokens as collateral. All of Wanchain’s different crosschain bridges are supported by this unified decentralised collateral pool.

At any given time, there are 25 active Bridge Nodes. Together, they form the Bridge or Storeman Group. The Bridge Group is re-elected on a monthly cycle.

Since Bridge Nodes are permissionless, anyone can set up a Bridge Node. More details on this process can be found in the setup guide.

How do Wanchain’s decentralised crosschain bridges work?

Wanchain offers multiple different kinds of crosschain bridges: Layer 1-to-Layer 1 Bridges, Layer 1-to-Layer 2 Bridges, Layer 2-to-Layer 2 Bridges, NFT Bridges, canonical bridges (called XFlows) and general message passing bridges. All Wanchain bridges are “Direct”, meaning no intermediary chains are used during cross-chain transactions.

Many of Wanchain’s bridges use the lock-mint-burn-unlock method. When a user initiates a crosschain transaction, the Bridge Group locks the original asset on the source blockchain before minting a wrapped token on the destination blockchain. At any time, the user can burn the wrapped token to retrieve the original asset.

For example, if a user wants to move 1 ETH from Ethereum to Wanchain, 1 ETH is first locked on Ethereum before a new token — let’s call it wanETH — is minted on Wanchain. At any time, 1 wanETH can also be burned to retrieve 1 ETH.

NFT Bridges are customised to each project, though they closely resemble the lock-mint-burn-unlock method . All NFT IDs and attributes are transferred from one blockchain to another.

XFlows uses decentralised liquidity pools to bridge assets. With this method, both the source and destination blockchains have a pre-existing pool of assets locked in an contract or account managed by the Bridge Group. When a user initiates a cross-chain transaction, they deposit assets into the pool on the source blockchain before the same number of assets is released on the destination blockchain.

For example, if a user wants to move 1 USDT from Polygon to Arbitrum, 1 USDT is deposited into the pool on Polygon before 1 USDT is released to the user on Arbitrum. The mechanism is the same when moving from Arbitrum to Polygon.

How can I initiate a crosschain transaction?

There are two primary channels to initiate crosschain transactions:

WanBridge: User manual, video walkthrough

Wanchain Desktop Wallet: User manual, video walkthrough

Here are several blockchain specific guides:

What are $WAN coins?

Wanchain’s native asset is called $WAN. It has a max supply of 210,000,000 coins. $WAN coins enable several functions including regular transactions, smart contract interactions, crosschain transaction and private transactions. $WAN coins also serve as collateral to secure both the Wanchain PoS Layer 1 blockchain and the wide area network of blockchains.

The primary exchanges trading $WAN coins include:

See a comprehensive list here.

Note: $WAN is not an ERC-20 token.

Is there a $WAN faucet?

Wanchain currently offers 2 $WAN faucets: an automatic crosschain faucet and a Telegram faucet.

To use the automatic crosschain faucet, all you need to do is complete any crosschain transaction from any blockchain to Wanchain. Doing so will automatically trigger a bot that will ensure that new accounts have enough $WAN to complete a few transactions.

To use the Telegram faucet, simply visit the WanFaucet on Telegram and enter your Wanchain address to receive a bit of $WAN. Each Telegram account can only use the Telegram faucet twice.

There is also a $WAN testnet faucet.

What can I do with $WAN coins?

$WAN coins can be staked to deploy Wanchain’s PoS Validator Nodes to secure and run the Wanchain network. Follow this guide to deploy your own PoS Validator Node (advanced), or this guide to delegate your $WAN to someone else’s PoS Validator Node (simple) using XStake.

$WAN coins can also be staked as collateral for Wanchain’s Bridge Nodes. Bridge Nodes perform and verify crosschain transactions to ensure the smooth and secure transfer of value between different blockchains. Follow this guide to deploy your own Bridge Node (advanced) or this guide to delegate your $WAN to someone else’s Bridge Node (simple) using XStake.

Many applications also use $WAN coins. For example, WanSwap and RexDex, both cross-chain AMM DEXs, use $WAN for yield farming. WanLend, an incentivised decentralised lending platform, allows users to stake $WAN as collateral for loan. $WAN coins can also be used in ZooKeeper, a gamified NFT-boosted yield farming platform. A more comprehensive list of applications can be found below.

Finally, a small amount of $WAN coins (fewer than 0.0001 $WAN) is needed to execute each transaction on Wanchain.

Where can I store $WAN and other Wanchain assets?

Several wallets support WAN and other Wanchain assets.

Wanchain Desktop Wallet
Wanchain Mobile Wallet
MetaMask: video walkthrough
Wanchain Offline Wallet
3rd party wallets such as Ledger, Trezor and Trust Wallet

What are some prominent DAPPs on Wanchain?

Autofarm — a hyper-optimised cross-chain yield aggregator
Elk Finance —a cross-chain gas station
Football Forecast —a fair, decentralised forecast game
Jack’s Pot — a no-loss lottery game
OpenZoo — a not-so-ordinary NFT marketplace
Phoenix Finance — a decentralised derivatives marketplace.
Red Packet — a fun and social way to send cryptocurrencies using red packets
RexDex — a cross-chain AMM DEX with NFT-boosted yield farming.
Stream Trade — a programmable dollar-cost averaging tool
WanLend — a decentralised lending platform: video walkthrough, user manual
WanSwap — a cross-chain DEX: user manual
XStake — an web-based platform for staking WAN and other assets: video guide
Zookeeper — a gamified yield farming platform with NFTs: user manual

About Wanchain

We are all connected — Wanchain, the Wide Area Network chain, is the world’s premier decentralised blockchain interoperability solution. Our mission is to drive blockchain adoption through interoperability by building fully decentralised bridges that connect the world’s many siloed blockchain networks. This cross-chain infrastructure empowers developers to build truly decentralised cross-chain applications to power the future of Web3.