Wanchain is poised to reinvigorate the Litecoin community by adding Litecoin to its cross-chain infrastructure, thereby making it possible for LTC to engage with smart contracts.
While we have seen many revolutionary blockchain projects in 2021, especially in the area of decentralized finance, one of the biggest obstacles hindering the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology continues to be the issue of cross-chain interoperability and compatibility between different blockchain networks.
Wanchain offers a solution to this problem and is a good case study for the impact that interoperability and smart contract capabilities can have on networks like Litecoin. However, before we go further, let’s explore what Wanchain truly is.
What is Wanchain?
Wanchain is the first decentralized blockchain interoperability solution designed to connect different, heterogeneous blockchain networks. Its cross-chain infrastructure helps developers build decentralized cross-chain applications that will power the future of decentralized finance (DeFi).
The Wanchain Foundation has been developing this infrastructure since 2017 and, in early 2021, it launched the world’s first decentralized BTC-ETH direct bridge. Wanchain also provides decentralized bridges that connect Bitcoin, Ethereum, Wanchain, EOSIO, Binance Smart Chain, and Ripple (XRP) ledger, amongst others. The most recent addition to Wanchain’s DeFi interoperability solution is Litecoin.
Since the advent of the first blockchain network by Satoshi, there have been several private and public blockchain networks deployed across the world. These blockchain networks have traditionally existed in isolation and have been unable to interact or communicate with one another. Wanchain’s mission is to build decentralized bridges that link these siloed blockchain networks. If this is achieved, it will go a long way to improving the chances of attaining mainstream adoption of blockchain technology.
How Wanchain Impacts Litecoin Smart Contract Compatibility
As a peer-to-peer digital currency, Litecoin enables almost zero-cost payments anywhere around the world. Its integration into Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure makes it possible for LTC to be traded cross-chain. It also gives LTC the ability to be used with Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible smart contracts.
According to Wanchain’s founder, Jack Lu: “Litecoin is one of the world’s most important cryptocurrencies. It is also the largest without smart contract capabilities. Wanchain and several of our enterprise partners are all very pleased with the prospect of what smart contract and true decentralized cross-chain interoperability can bring to Litecoin and the blockchain community at large.”
Litecoin’s integration into Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure gives LTC holders a great opportunity. Any one of these holders can leverage DeFi to start earning high yields from multiple staking and farming applications. These farming applications are all connected via Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure. Wanchain’s premiere decentralised application is Wanswap, an innovative cross-chain automatic market-making decentralized exchange. Wanswap has also launched a farming pool for Litecoin.
The Working Principle of the Decentralized Cross-chain Bridge
Once you initiate a cross-chain transaction, Wanchain’s Storeman Group locks the original asset on the “originating” blockchain network. The Storeman Group is a group of validator nodes saddled with the responsibility of verifying cross-chain transactions. There will always be at least 25 active Storeman validator nodes making up the Storeman Group at any given point in time on the network. These Storeman validator nodes are reselected every epoch.
After locking the original asset, the Storeman Group will mint a new token. This new token is pegged 1:1 to the original asset on the destination blockchain network. For instance, if you want to move your Litecoin to Binance Smart Chain, the LTC is first locked on Litecoin. Once that is done, a new token, e.g., wanLTC, will be minted on the Binance Smart Chain network. The value of wanLTC will always be pegged 1:1 with LTC.
Closing Thoughts
At this stage in the blockchain industry, a cross-chain interoperability solution like Wanchain’s is a necessity. Aside from the compatibility and interoperability solution Wanchain provides, it also helps to “smoothen” the path for mainstream adoption of blockchain. It is also important to note that Wanchain is one of the oldest projects in the industry with a proven track record.
