Samsung’s Latest Galaxy Note 10 Edition Introduces Ambitious Blockchain Platform

Sep 05, 2019
15:09
2 min reading

Choise.com team

Only six months after implementing blockchain technology in their latest flagship product, Samsung has already partnered with Kakao, a South Korean Internet company, toreleasea new crypto-friendly version of the Galaxy Note 10. Named the KlaytnPhone, the smartphone comes with preinstalled blockchain apps, including a crypto wallet.

According to sources from the Wall Street Journal, each phone has a cryptocurrency wallet that is already filled with an unknown amount of KLAY tokens. The tokens are based on the Klaytn platform launched in June this year by Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary, Ground X.

Ground Xplans to drive blockchain technology adoption in South Korea, which could be potentially achieved given that Kakao has a major influence in the country, with a 96% market share. The Klaytn platform aims to create an ecosystem for decentralized applications (dApps).

The latest edition of Samsung’s popular flagship model introduces various parts of the Klaytn platform, including features that minimize uncertainty concerning blockchain technology. However, only the South Korean market will have access to the product, which has already launched on 5 September. The smartphone is allegedly priced at $1,000.

Significance of ‘Blockchain Smartphones’

By introducing blockchain technology and crypto payments to devices that we regularly use, we may move one step closer to adoption. With a plethora of dApps and digital wallets, both enthusiasts and newcomers can enjoy the satisfaction of having no intermediaries on a completely decentralized peer-to-peer network.

As Samsung is one of the leading smartphone producers in the world, users that are not familiar with the industry may change their stance, given the company’s significant reputation. Blockchain smartphones can ‘educate’ new users about the technology, showing them both the benefits and ease-of-use compared to modern services provided by financial institutions.

Furthermore, the implementation of 5G networks combined with decentralized technology will pave the way to the eventual Web 3.0 future.

The concept of a ‘blockchain smartphone’ was initiallyintroducedby HTC, who announced their Exodus 1 product during the Web3 summit in 2018.

At the time, the product could only be purchased with cryptocurrency. At a price equivalent of around $1,000, the phone was priced at 0.15 BTC or 4.78 ETH with an early access release in December. According to HTC, the Exodus 1 provides better security, a cold wallet, and decentralized applications.

Samsung Has Serious Plans for the Cryptocurrency Industry

Samsung achieved significant success by releasing its very first blockchain smartphone back in March. At the time, the new flagship model only supports Ethereum and a few other ERC20 tokens. However, Samsung addedsupportfor Bitcoin and some significant stablecoins.

Alongside them, the model also received an update which allows users to use BNB (Binance Coin) and BAT (Basic Attention Token). All of the cryptocurrencies were introduced with no previous announcements. At the time of writing, the device supports 33 currencies in total.

When online media reported the silent update, the founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, tweeted the news and stated that it was a significant event.

According to a report published by Decenter on 3 September, Samsungcreateda patent for a ‘programmable blockchain solid-state drive and switch.’ Samsung sent the patent application at the start of the year.

In apartnershipwith Pundi X, a platform for providing crypto payments, the South Korean electronics giant decide to integrate the platform’s XWallet. Starting in August, users can decide whether they want to implement it in their native Samsung Blockchain Wallet. Alongside a list of popular crypto assets, XWallet also supports the platform’s native tokens.

Pundi X has previouslyannouncedthat they have partnered with Verifone, an American POS terminal producer. Pundi X seeks to increase the adoption of cryptocurrencies by retailers in the US by implementing their system for cryptocurrency payments into Verifone’s terminals. The terminal will support several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, KuCoin Shares, Binance Coin, and others.

The company has already made a similar move in June 2018 byprovidingcrypto-friendly POS terminals in Indonesia, a country which had an anti-crypto regulatory framework at the time.