Will Blockchain-Powered Smartphones be the Next Big Thing in the Telecommunication Industry?

Blockchain technological innovations are taking the world by storm, one industry at a time. From economics to finance, healthcare, automotive, politics, environment and others, telecommunication is the latest addition to the list with the launch of blockchain-powered smartphone.

According to a predictive report from Marketwatch released on July 11, blockchain technological advancements are expected to add as much as $1 billion to the telecommunication industry in the next five years!

This is not surprising at all, keeping in mind the rapid advancements that are being introduced almost daily by the blockchain.

If automotive industry is already experimenting and identifying the new use cases powered by blockchain technology – from cobalt ledgers for BMW to blockchain Dapps for Porsche, it is expected that telecommunication would follow the same route too.

Introduction of Blockchain-Powered Phone

Phone manufacturers are always on the lookout for introducing cutting-edge technology and are eyeing to launch some ‘fresh’ stuff in the market. This could easily be deduced from the yearly releases of Samsung and iPhone phones.

However, apart from going mainstream, various phone manufacturers are looking to explore the unexplored by starting a new blockchain-based battle by introducing phones specially built for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

It is important to mention here that it is no more just about the components of the phones that will have a touch of cryptocurrency in them, but the method through which enterprises would conduct the businesses will also be worth watching.

Sirin Labs to Launch a Blockchain Based Phone

A Swiss-based smartphone developer, Sirin Labs, is currently working on a blockchain-powered phone project that is expected to be launched in the markets in November this year. 

As per the press release, Sirin has secured a funding of $157.8 million in their ICO, out of which, $110 million came within 24 hours. This makes it evident as to how excited the industry is towards the project.

The phone is expected to have a price tag of $1,000, and is named Finney. The phone is being endorsed by Lionel Messi, the popular soccer player.

If you are wondering what makes this smartphone different from what we already have today – the phone will be Android-based, but it will run on the Sirin OS and would have a token conversion service, a cold storage cryptocurrency wallet and a DApp store for downloading blockchain-based apps.

The catch here is that the phone can already be purchased using the crypto token released by Sirin (which is based on the ERC-20 token). At the beginning of the year, the company had reportedly sold 40 percent of the 573 million token that it created during the recent ICO.

Next in the List : HTC

Sirin is not the only company which is making the most out of this opportunity. Instead, HTC, a Taiwanese consumer electronics company is also looking to launch its own blockchain-powered smartphone.

The phone would be called as HTC Exodus, revealed Phil Chen who takes care of blockchain and cryptocurrency-related offerings at HTC.

When asked about the integration of blockchain applications with the phone’s hardware, Chen explained that “We are excited to be supporting underlying protocols such as Lightning Networks, Bitcoin, Dfinity, Ethereum and more.”

Talking about the features that the phone is expected to have, it will have a secure hardware enclave and cryptocurrency wallets.

Huawei to Enter the Club as Well

Huawei is also the next-entrant to the blockchain-powered phones club. According to Bloomberg, the company is reportedly seeking the license for Sirin OS, the open-source integrating system.

It is Not Just About the Phones

Blockchain is not just revolutionising the smartphone industry, but rather the entire telecommunication sector is on its radar. While Sirin and HTC are about to launch their phones, the Opera web browser is taking a step in a different direction and recently launched a built-in cryptocurrency wallet.

IBM, another leader in the technology, is not far behind as well. It is also planning to work on various blockchain projects. Recently, IBM wrote a blog post in January about how blockchain can transform the telecommunication industry:

“Blockchain is currently one of the most talked-about technologies. Across industries, organisations are exploring blockchain’s potential impact in their space and how they can benefit from this emerging technology. The communications service provider (CSP) industry is no exception.”

It is the Right Time to Make Your Presence Felt

If a report from Marketwatch is to be believed, the blockchain-powered telecom industry will explode from a mere $46.6 million industry in 2018 to $993.8 million by 2023.

Thus, this is the right time for the companies to take the plunge and go ahead. However, since the technology is still at its developing stage, a lot of work still needs to be done. One thing is evident that this technology might see the emergence and growth of new leaders, as the world moves beyond Samsung and Apple.

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