HTC Says Its Next Smartphone Will Run a Full Bitcoin Node

Mobile phone manufacturer HTC wants to let its smartphone customers plug into the bitcoin blockchain.

Speaking on Saturday at the Magical Crypto Conference in New York, HTC's Phil Chen revealed a new low-cost version of its blockchain phone, the EXODUS 1s, announcing that the device will be capable of acting as a full node for the bitcoin network, meaning customers will store the entire blockchain's data on their devices.

While customers could initially only purchase the device with crypto, HTC opened up fiat payment options in February.

The most striking promise of the 1s will be its ability to run a full bitcoin node.

"The bitcoin blockchain is about 200 [gigabytes], and it's growing about 60 gigs per year. And those numbers are reasonable to hold on a smartphone. Imagine the iPod with 256 gigs of course the music fan wants to keep the whole music library but the crypto fan wants to keep the whole bitcoin blockchain."

By letting users run full nodes, HTC is giving them the ability to verify data themselves, he said.

"[You can] be a part of the bitcoin revolution by contributing to the security of the whole network," said Chen.

HTC plans to support the bitcoin blockchain at launch, but Chen did not rule out adding support for other networks.

"We definitely want to support that first and given what bitcoin stands for, open, neutral, censorship-resistance."

Once HTC is able to launch the 1s, Chen expects that his team will be able to apply the experience from supporting a bitcoin node to other networks.