HTC Exodus 1s to feature first-ever Bitcoin full node

Taiwanese electronics company HTC has officially announced the launch of the EXODUS 1s. Unlike Samsung’s smartphones which have a built-in crypto wallet, the HTC EXODUS 1s will feature a first-ever mobile device with Bitcoin full node support along with its Zion cryptocurrency wallet.

Running a full bitcoin node does not mean mining bitcoin. More like an ability to hold the entire bitcoin ledger which adds privacy and control to user transactions. Each time a user makes a transaction, it needs to be verified that none of the transaction’s inputs have been previously spent. Therefore, to check this, it needs to access the blockchain ledger.

Given the full copy of Bitcoin blockchain (more than 240 GB), existing mobile crypto wallet providers rely on centralized third party websites to fetch blockchain data and confirm transactions. As a result, users transacting using these wallets lose control and privacy.

With HTC EXODUS 1s, users get a separate SD slot to store the entire Bitcoin ledger and have full control and privacy on their Bitcoin transactions.

Phil Chen, the Chief Officer at HTC, says, “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”, adding: “participating in the global Bitcoin network that propagates transactions and blocks everywhere is the foundation and fundamental definition of a peer-to-peer cash system.​”

By comparing the specs of HTC EXODUS 1s with EXODUS 1, EXODUS 1s is expected to be a low-cost phone. The device will initially be available for order in Europe, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

About HTC’s Cryptocurrency Wallet – Zion

Zion, an HTC’s cryptocurrency wallet functions as a hardware wallet running on a secure enclave — a secluded area on the phone’s chip kept separate from the Android operating system (OS) it runs on. More like a micro OC that runs in parallel with Android.

Google’s OS is a centralized system and therefore using Android would make a user’s funds more vulnerable to a hack. Hence, HTC designed a separate chip and OS to separate and isolate cryptocurrency and blockchain functions from Android.

HTC’s cryptocurrency wallet – Zion provides support for BTC, LTC, ETH, and other popular ERC-20 tokens and ERC-721.