HTC announces blockchain smartphone

Exodus will support both bitcoin and ethereum

Blockchain

Andrew Barclay

Published: 6:35pm, 16 May, 2018

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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

HTC is bringing the blockchain to smartphones with a dedicated handset called Exodus.

The phone will let users store cryptocurrencies and support decentralized apps. HTC says among the protocols supported are both bitcoin and ethereum.

One of the other notable features of the phone is that they will also serve as nodes -- devices connected to a blockchain network that are able to validate transactions -- to let the Exodus enable trading of cryptocurrencies among users. The company even has the ambitious goal of doubling or tripling the number of nodes on the ethereum and bitcoin networks.

HTC is also pitching the phone as a privacy solution because it lets users store their identity and data on the phone itself.

"I want to see a world where the end consumers can truly own their data -- browsing history, identity, assets, wallets, emails, messaging -- without the need for central authorities," Phil Chen, HTC’s head of blockchain initiatives and creator of the company’s Vive VR headset, said during the announcement.

HTC is far from the first company to announce a blockchain phone. Lenovo announced their own blockchain phone earlier this year, saying it would “improve payment safety” -- but didn’t explain how it would work or reveal any further information.

Lenovo unveils a blockchain phone (but doesn’t explain what that means)

But as The Next Web points out, it’s not clear what these phones do that can’t be replicated on existing smartphones using software alone.

Still, if you do have some bitcoin to spare, HTC is reportedly considering letting people buy Exodus using cryptocurrency -- but a price and release date are yet to be announced.

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