What is Wanchain (WAN)?

Quick Facts

  • Founded: 2017; raised $35M via ICO
  • Type: Layer-1 PoS blockchain and cross-chain interoperability network
  • Consensus: Galaxy Consensus (Proof of Stake)
  • Native token: WAN — used for gas fees and staking
  • Max supply: 210,000,000 WAN
  • Networks connected: 37+ including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, BSC, and more
  • Co-founder: Jack Lu, former CTO and co-founder of Factom

Introduction

Wanchain (WAN) is both a sustainable Layer-1 Proof of Stake blockchain and a fully decentralized cross-chain interoperability solution. Its core mission is to connect the world's siloed blockchain networks, allowing digital assets and value to move freely across them.

The name itself reflects this purpose — 'WAN' refers to a Wide Area Network, signifying its ambition to become the wide area network of blockchains.

History & Background

Wanchain was founded in 2017 and raised $35 million through an ICO. From the outset, the project focused on building infrastructure to enable cross-chain value transfer between heterogeneous blockchains.

In 2018, Wanchain successfully demonstrated cross-chain transfers between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ERC-20 tokens. The network later transitioned from a permissioned Proof of Work mechanism to its current Galaxy Consensus PoS protocol, opening participation to the broader community.

How Wanchain Works

Wanchain's cross-chain infrastructure relies on two key components: Storeman nodes and smart contracts deployed on each connected chain.

Storeman nodes use threshold cryptography and secure multiparty computation (sMPC) to process cross-chain transactions. When a user bridges an asset, the original tokens are locked in a secure account while equivalent mapping tokens are issued on the destination chain. The original funds are only released when the mapping tokens are burned and sent back.

Galaxy Consensus powers the network's security. Validators are divided into two groups — the Random Number Proposer (RNP) group and the Epoch Leader (EL) group — which work together to propose and finalize blocks. A delegation mechanism allows smaller WAN holders to stake by delegating to a validator node and earn proportional rewards.

Tokenomics

The WAN token has a maximum supply of 210 million, with a token distribution of 51% from the token sale, 20% allocated to the team, 19% to an ecosystem fund, and 10% reserved for staking rewards.

WAN serves multiple functions: paying transaction fees on the network, staking to secure consensus, and collateralizing cross-chain bridge operations via Storeman nodes. Validators earn WAN rewards when their node is selected to produce blocks.

Circulating supply ? 106.15 million WAN
Total supply ? 210.00 million WAN
Max supply ? 125.00 million WAN
Fixed supply (updated manually)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Wanchain bridges connect 37+ networks, including both EVM-compatible chains (Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche) and non-EVM chains (Bitcoin, XRP Ledger, Litecoin). Both fungible tokens and NFTs can be transferred directly between chains without relying on relay chains.

This infrastructure enables developers to build decentralized cross-chain DeFi applications, allowing liquidity and assets from many different ecosystems to interact within a single application.

Team, Governance & Community

Wanchain was co-founded by Jack Lu, who previously served as CTO and co-founder of Factom, with a background at HP and Xerox. The research and engineering teams are based in Beijing and Austin.

Governance is aligned with the PoS staking model — validators and delegators participate in network security and have a stake in the protocol's direction. The community is active across Twitter, Telegram, Discord, and Reddit.

Advantages

  • Broad connectivity: Bridges 37+ networks, including non-EVM chains like Bitcoin and XRP Ledger
  • Decentralized and non-custodial: No reliance on relay chains or centralized intermediaries
  • Flexible staking: Both large validators and small delegators can participate in Galaxy Consensus
  • EVM compatibility: Familiar developer environment, lowering the barrier to building cross-chain dApps

Risks & Challenges

  • Bridge security risk: Cross-chain bridges are historically high-value attack targets in DeFi
  • Competition: The cross-chain interoperability space is highly competitive, with rivals like LayerZero, Wormhole, and Axelar
  • Adoption dependency: Value of the network depends on developer and user adoption across connected chains
  • Complexity: sMPC and threshold cryptography, while robust, introduce protocol complexity that must be rigorously audited

Long-Term Vision

Wanchain's long-term goal goes beyond connecting blockchains to one another — it aims to bridge decentralized finance with traditional financial systems and real-world assets. By building universal, trustless cross-chain infrastructure, Wanchain envisions a future where value flows as freely between blockchains as data flows across the internet today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wanchain is a Layer-1 Proof of Stake blockchain and decentralized cross-chain interoperability solution. It connects 37+ blockchain networks, enabling trustless transfer of digital assets between them.

WAN is the native currency of the Wanchain network. It is used to pay transaction fees, stake in Galaxy Consensus to secure the network, and collateralize cross-chain bridge operations via Storeman nodes.

Galaxy Consensus is Wanchain's proprietary Proof of Stake protocol, built on threshold cryptography and secure multiparty computation. It uses two groups of validators — Random Number Proposers and Epoch Leaders — to propose and finalize blocks.

Storeman nodes lock original tokens in a secure account while issuing equivalent mapping tokens on the destination chain. The process is reversed when assets are bridged back, ensuring the total token supply across chains remains constant.

The maximum supply of WAN is 210 million tokens. The distribution includes 51% from the token sale, 20% for the team, 19% for the ecosystem fund, and 10% for staking rewards.

Yes. Wanchain's delegation mechanism allows holders of any size to delegate their WAN to a validator node. Delegators earn proportional staking rewards when their chosen validator produces blocks.

Wanchain connects over 37 networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Polkadot, XRP Ledger, Litecoin, Fantom, Moonbeam, and more. It supports both EVM and non-EVM chains.

Wanchain was co-founded by Jack Lu, who previously served as CTO and co-founder of Factom and held roles at HP and Xerox. The project was founded in 2017 and raised $35 million in an ICO.