HTC has announced that it will be making a Blockchain smartphone, named the HTC Exodus. This would be the second Blockchain smartphone, behind Sirin Labs Finney smartphone that is priced at $1000. Although this would not be the second smartphone maker to jump on-board here. Others, including Huawei, have announced that it will also be making a Blockchain smartphone. The Exodus will have a universal wallet, and users will be able to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin inside.
When the Exodus launches, it will support Bitcoin, Ethereum and a few other major networks, though HTC expects to add support for other cryptocurrencies in the future. HTC is also going to allow users to purchase the Exodus using cryptocurrency, though a price has not yet been announced. The vision here for HTC is to allow users to trade cryptocurrency on the Exodus. This isn’t some small smartphone that HTC is making to be exclusive to a single carrier. In fact, it is making some personnel changes for this new smartphone. HTC Vive founder, Phil Chen will be in charge of the Blockchain initiative. Chen’s new title is going to be “decentralized chief officer”. Chen is expected to be speaking at the New York City Blockchain conference today, on these changes.
It’s not surprising to see Chen moving over to be in charge of this new technology, seeing as Facebook and Instagram have both moved some executives over to be in charge of its own cryptocurrency (though it is not yet available). Blockchain and cryptocurrency are becoming big topics these days, with many worried that the traditional currencies might be worthless in a few years. Right now, it’s just the “next big thing” and companies are looking to take advantage of it. With a Blockchain smartphone, HTC is going to need to build an ultra-secure smartphone, which is something HTC hasn’t done before (and really no manufacturer has), but it should make for an interesting device. There’s no word on when the Exodus will be made official, but we should get more details later today.