HTC to Launch Blockchain-Ready Smartphones

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is the latest tech giant to embrace the ‎blockchain trend. The company is reportedly developing an Android smartphone, named ‎‎“Exodus,” that can run blockchain-based decentralized applications (DApp).‎

The new smartphone will make use of the emerging technology to offer a native ‎cryptocurrency experience. Exodus will feature crypto-linked functions such as cold ‎storage crypto wallet, secure exchange access, encrypted ‎communications and a P2P resource ‎sharing ecosystem for payment and apps.‎

Offline storage of digital currencies will be extremely secure with Exodus provided that the private keys are ‎backed up and never shared.‎

HTC’s decentralized chief officer, Phil Chen, further explained: “The Exodus is ‎the first native blockchain phone dedicated to bringing end consumers ‎the best decentralized application (DApp) experiences, including a ‎built-in secure hardware enclave, and helping underlying protocols ‎expand their base of dedicated nodes, thus expanding the total ‎blockchain ecosystem.” ‎

One of the more interesting features is the inclusion of exodus phones to create a ‎native blockchain network, acting as nodes to facilitate cryptocurrency ‎trading among the phone users.‎

“Through Exodus, we are excited to be supporting underlying ‎protocols such as Bitcoin, Lightning Networks, Ethereum, Dfinity, and ‎more,” Chen noted.‎

Phil Chen, who is best-known as the founder of the Vive virtual reality headset at HTC, ‎said the new device would allow the company to start accepting payments for its ‎phone pre-orders in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.‎

The plans would mark the first confirmed foray of a major smartphone maker into blockchain. ‎However, HTC is not the first to consider producing a blockchain powered phone as the Israeli ‎startup SIRIN LABS is already touting its Finney product as ‎the “world’s first blockchain phone.” ‎

Although HTC has greater name recognition and expertise in smartphones, Sirin Labs ‎said pre-‎orders for the FINNEY phone have surpassed ‎‎‎25,000 unit and confirmed that the device will be available in market in ‎the second half ‎of 2018.‎

‎“I want to see a world where the end consumers can truly own their data (browsing ‎history, identity, assets, wallets, emails, messaging, etc.) without the need for ‎central authorities. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe the mobile ‎hardware layer can contribute significantly to our decentralized world,” Chen ‎concluded.

(Photo: HTC)

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