HTC’s New Exodus 1s Phone Is A Bitcoin Full Node

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Supporting the Bitcoin (BTC) network may soon be as simple as turning on your phone. HTC has revealed technical specifications for the new Exodus 1s phone, which includes advanced blockchain capabilities. In addition to built-in key storage and wallets, the new device will include a new first in mobile phones: a full Bitcoin node, allowing users to interact with the largest blockchain network directly from their pockets.

In a press release issued today, HTC described the new device as part of a movement towards protecting highlighted that full-node capabilities would allow users to trustlessly interact with the Bitcoin network, without exposing their privacy to other parties.

Full nodes are used to broadcast and verify transactions, thereby ensuring that no coin can be spent twice and no user can be prevented from making a transaction. Although they do not mine blocks, they serve an important role in ensuring that the blockchain remains secure and accessible to everyone.

Phil Chen, who serves HTC with the unusual title of Decentralized Chief Officer, described the new device as a part of the company’s mission to “empower the user.”

“We are democratizing access to the technology for a free world,” Chen said. “Full nodes are the most important ingredient in the resilience of the Bitcoin network and we have lowered the barrier to entry for any person to run a node.”

The phone also comes with a built-in hardware wallet, known as the Zion Vault. First introduced with the Exodus 1 earlier this year, the Zion Vault stores cryptocurrency keys in a trusted execution environment, allowing users to easily own and spend cryptocurrencies without exposing them to malicious applications.

The Exodus 1s will take the vault a step further, releasing a software development kit (SDK for the Zion Vault. The new toolkit will allow developers to explore integrating cryptocurrencies and the smartphone with third-party apps. “We understand it takes a community to ensure strength and security,” HTC said in the announcement, “so it’s important to the EXODUS team that our community have the best tools available to them.”

HTC is only the latest provider seeking to integrate mobile technology with blockchains and cryptocurrency. Crypto Briefing has already reported on Pundi X’s XPhone as well as the Samsung S10.

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