It’s official. Samsung S10 initially only supports ethereum and ethereum tokens, with bitcoin not integrated at this stage according to local media.
Moreover there’s some clarity on the design. There’s the Blockchain Key Store, which as the name suggests is meant to only generate and store the keys.
It looks like there isn’t much you can do on the Key Store, with its aim being to only blockchenize the phone.
A good way to think of it is the MetaMask plugin on Chrome which once installed can allow you to access dapp websites.
Here you have the Key Store which comes installed with the phone. Now you can access dapps and crypto services with the Key Store providing the Blockchain connection.
Access to the Key Store for dapps and services is through a whitelist as far as we’re aware, with it potentially to be opened to everyone later on.
The actual service is provided through the Samsung Blockchain Wallet. This has to be downloaded on the Galaxy Store according to local media.
The wallet connects to the Key Store to provide the usual services of paying with eth in addition to having a dapp browser.
There are four dapps currently supported. The ethereum based blockchain gaming dapp Enjin which has been soaring in price recently, some beauty dapp called Cosmee, CryptoKitties, and a BitPay like merchants payment service called CoinDuck.
CoinDuck currently only accepts eth, which is presumably why it has been chosen as the Key Store currently only works with eth, bitcoin will be added later.
Crypto Samsung Pay?
We’ve asked Samsung for clarification, but have received no response at time of publishing. Some local media is however suggesting that Samsung Pay might integrate cryptos.
The initial presentation that was given (featured image) had the blockchain store side by side with Samsung Pay featured.
The main one is that it is contactless, you just tap and go. Integrating crypto there would perhaps be somewhat simple. You connect Samsung Pay to the Key Store, and you’re done. Then at the other end Samsung Pay already has the fiat aspect, so you could relatively easily convert the crypto into dollars.
The uniqueness here would be that you’d pay with eth through just tap and go, rather than having to scan a QR code.
For anyone who likes using eth for that sort of function, then Samsung 10 would become a must have phone, especially if they already need one.
That would probably force Apple to provide the same functionality, with the end result being that cryptos would probably become just as convenient as contactless card payments.
The biggest benefit of that would be in circumstances where your card or fiat Samsung Pay fails for whatever reason. Maybe the card network is down, as it happens sometime, or the card has expired and you forgot to renew it, or maybe you don’t have enough funds as you forgot to top it up.
With crypto integration, you’d just pay with eth and done. Without it, your day might be ruined as you might be made late for work or you might have to make do without lunch.
Finally, considering crypto ownership is growing, there might in combination be a sufficient number of cryptonians who at some point want or need to sell eth or bitcoin once it is integrated.
Instead of converting it to fiat first, which might take time and may cost in high fees, they could just pay with crypto directly for whatever they need.
Just how many would do so if it is as convenient as tap and go is not clear, but it might be enough to give a competitive advantage, especially when one considers the product here is the phone, with the rest, including Samsung Pay, being a feature.
Copyrights Trustnodes.com
