In a discreet move, Samsung has added Bitcoin support to its decentralized app store, Blockchain Keystore. With this move, users will be eventually allowed to use Bitcoin in applications through the company’s secure storage hardware featured on the supported devices.
A big brand like Samsung supporting and putting the power of cryptocurrency in the hands of millions of users will surely enhance the efforts for the global adoption of the currency.
The Samsung Blockchain keystore also supports the Klaytn network. This is the cryptocurrency launched by Korea’s largest social messaging company, Kakao. The Korean tech giant has at present added blockchain features in the developer kit for several S10 models and also for the Note10 and Note10+ devices. These include two new services – an AI-powered digital analytics DApp dubbed “Jupiter” and a QR code-based peer-to-peer wallet, named as “Mars”.
The apps developed with this Software Development Kit (SDK) will be capable of handling BTC, Ethereum, ERC20 and Klaytn’s Klay tokens. At present the blockchain features of the phones are only available in limited areas. These countries are Canada, Germany, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the U.S. and the U.K.
A response in the FAQ section of the company’s website states that “Official version of Samsung Blockchain SDK will be announced by the end of 2019. In the meantime, developers can request a partnership to use the beta version of the Samsung Blockchain SDK.” Samsung is also developing its own blockchain based on ethereum and may release its own token in the future.
Earlier this year Samsung hinted about expanding its support towards cryptocurrencies. Chae Won-Cheol, the senior managing director of the Product Strategy Team said that ““We will lower barriers to new experiences by gradually expanding the number of Galaxy models that support blockchain functions. We will also expand our service target countries after Korea, the United States and Canada.”
The newly launched galaxy series launched In last February was built with “defense-grade Samsung Knox” that enabled the devices to have private keys for secure cryptocurrency transactions.
In addition to Samsung, Taiwanese consumer electronics giant HTC also launched “Exodus,” its first blockchain powered phone in late 2018. The Israeli blockchain startup Sirin Labs also launched the Finney blockchain smartphone in the winter of 2018. But the project has suffered setbacks due to the bearish trends of the current cryptocurrency market.
At the time of this report, Bitcoin is down by -7.54% with the price being $10,464 and the overall cryptocurrency market cap is at $277 billion. The news has had no effects on the cryptocurrency market whatsoever.
