By CCN Markets: South Korean conglomerate Samsung has added support for Bitcoin to its tenth series of blockchain-enabled smartphones. This was revealed in an update posted on its developer website.
With the added support for the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin now joins Ethereum and Klaytn as the other blockchain platforms integrated into the Blockchain Keystore.
By adding Bitcoin support to high-end devices, is Samsung taking the war to the iPhone?
The blockchain feature in one of the world’s leading smartphones running the Android operating system comes preloaded on a couple of Samsung’s high-end devices. This includes Note 10+, Note 10, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, S10+ and the S10 5G. The blockchain feature is restricted to key markets including its home country, the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Spain.
The Samsung Blockchain Keystore comes preloaded on the selected devices and there is currently no way of downloading the feature from the tech giant’s app store. The tech giant has, however, indicated that it will expand to other regions in future as well as increase the number of cryptocurrencies supported.
Blockchain addresses are linked to the Samsung Blockchain Keystore allowing users to view transaction history and check crypto balances. Additionally, users can also sign crypto transactions. The blockchain functionality was introduced on the Samsung’s premium smartphones earlier this year.
Breaking: Samsung Galaxy S10 Features Built-in Crypto Support https://t.co/BMZLZdasbF
— CCN Markets (@CCNMarkets) February 20, 2019
The road not taken… by Apple
Samsung’s offering of dedicated blockchain functionality on its smartphones stands in contrast to that of Apple which places some restrictions on blockchain technology. This includes banning cryptocurrency mining apps and discouraging cryptocurrency rewards for online activity.
Viktor Radchenko the founder of Binance’s official crypto wallet, Trust Wallet, hailed Samsung’s move while noting Apple’s indifference to cryptocurrencies:
I definitely think Samsung is moving into right direction in terms of crypto adoption. Apple does the opposite, trying to suppress adoption and limits users to functionality and rejects some crypto apps.
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