Most may even be surprised that some of the services they enjoy, especially in the financial sector, already employs blockchain technology.
In the Philippines, over 500 companies now tap fintech firm Salarium’s blockchain-powered human resource services for payroll disbursement. In Hong Kong, listed firm Chong Sing Holdings Fintech Group is slowly transforming its back-end office as its new blockchain-enabled platform prove to be faster in processing loan applications.
Truly, the blockchain has proven itself worthy of the dime and time spent by investors in the financial sector, but there are a handful of companies making a case for its disruptive potential in other industries, too.
In Singapore, a startup called Pundi X believes blockchain can pave the way for a decentralized telecommunication industry. Later this year, the startup is launching its first smartphone product—the XPhone—which can be used for calls and texts even without a service provider. Instead, the device will run on Pundi X’s blockchain-powered ecosystem called Function X. Developers envision it to be the next global mobile ecosystem as it will be opened to other smartphone manufacturers, too.
Also Read: Realtime analytics and trends will help unlock the secrets of the blockchain ecosystem
Set to do more than just trade cryptocurrencies, the Function X can publish DApps or decentralized apps, and access websites through the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), described by the MIT Technology Review as a “peer-to-peer file-sharing network”. This platform is poised to be blockchain phones’ gateway to its own Internet, its own HTTP. Its main difference from the traditional Internet is how it shares information to users.
Accessing websites or any online assets in the HTTP today means requesting access to the original server hosting them, which takes massive amounts of bandwidth and time.
It’s partly the reason why data services remain costly in most countries. But with IPFS, data is identified by unique cryptographic codes. Anyone who wants to access any site or data may connect with another user who may have accessed it before, the location of whom may be closer than the original server hosting it.
The process makes data access faster and more efficient. According to MIT, those codes cannot be faked, securing users from cyber attacks.
Pundi X developers believe that as more manufacturers adopt the ecosystem, blockchain phone users will be able to create a decentralized community, completely removed from traditional web and telcos.
It’s an effort to create a mobile experience that can preserve users’ private data as Function X runs on a “trustless system”, meaning, no one entity owns the platform. On the business side, developers may run and distribute scalable apps and programs even without third-party platforms like GooglePlay and Apple’s the AppStore for example, cutting costs for game and software studios.
Those savings could be channelled to investments that could help developers create and run more efficient and cheaper programs and tools. That’s a win-win scenario for both businesses and consumers.
The big and small companies betting on blockchain phones
Pundi X is not alone in this effort. Last year, Israel-based Sirin Labs also launched a blockchain phone called Finney, similarly running on a decentralized ecosystem called Sirin OS. Both the XPhone and Finney can be interchanged between Android and “blockchain” modes, to cater to both mainstream users and cryptocurrency owners.
Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is also betting on a future with a decentralized web. In January, the company, which helped Google develop its flagship phone Pexel, started selling Exodus 1, a smartphone that allows users to trade, send and store a number of cryptocurrencies on its phone through an app called Zion.
While it still can’t run DApps, HTC is already hinting that the phone will have more blockchain-enabled functions. Even smartphone giant Samsung released its flagship phone S10 with a pre-uploaded cryptocurrency trading app.
It’s worth noting that these smartphone developers made sure that the futuristic functions their devices possess are matched with great hardware.
All of the smartphones mentioned have the features of a top-tier device: a respectable phone camera that can compete with most brands’ flagship phones, robust battery life, and sleek designs. These features somehow help blockchain phones be easily enjoyed and accepted by most, somehow democratizing their advanced functions.
Once these devices take off to the mainstream, the decentralized web is only imminent. Remember that IPFS will only work as envisioned if there are already thousands of devices hosting data.
Not only will it create a more efficient Internet service, but it will also mean a more secure web. With thousands owning their own data, platforms are no longer at risk to massive hacks and breaches. And that’s a future that not just blockchain enthusiasts and experts will enjoy.
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