World’s First Crypto Smartphone will Support Litecoin and Lightning Network

Back in May, phone company HTC announced that they would be releasing the first ever smartphone fully powered by Blockchain technology, which is called the HTC Exodus. At the time, Phil Chen, creator of Exodus, said, “I want to see a world where the end consumers can truly own their data—browsing history, identity, assets, wallets, emails, messaging—without the need for central authorities. There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe the mobile hardware layer can contribute significantly to our new decentralized world.”

The HTC Exodus has generated a lot of hype due to its innovative features. It will host a universal built-in wallet for cryptocurrencies, and will reportedly give the user a streamlined experienced when interacting with decentralized applications (DApps). The Exodus will be a ‘secure hardware enclave’ for the user, while still giving easy access to immediate cross-functional systems, meaning that the smartphone can integrate with users’ existing blockchain systems with minimal disruption.

Litecoin fans got some good news last Sunday, as Charlie Lee announced that the phone will support Litecoin and he will be involved with the development team as an advisor. The phone will support the lightning network on Litecoin natively, but it will still support Bitcoin as well.

As for when the HTC Exodus will come out, we have a ballpark idea. Phil Chen said that HTC is hoping to begin distributing the new phone by the end of the year, but he declined to provide a firm date.

Will this be the kindling that Litecoin needs to reclaim its past dominance? The markets didn’t seem to think so, with the price of Litecoin dropping about 2% over the past couple of days. This is still great news however, and smartphones are yet another way that Blockchain technology can infiltrate mainstream culture.