Samsung's S10 to Bring Secure Crypto Storage to the Masses

Samsung is no stranger to innovation — pioneering internal antennae, curved screens, and now, "blockchain-enabled mobile services". Samsung's new S10, which ships this month, will be the firm's first flagship device to support secure storage of cryptocurrency — a move that could set the technological foundation for a new wave of crypto-friendly smartphones.

The Samsung Blockchain Keystore

The "Blockchain Keystore", as the storage feature is dubbed, is described as a secure, hardware-backed solution for storing private keys. This uses Samsung's security system Knox — which is used by governments, banks, and hospitals across the world to stop the data on mobile devices from falling into the wrong hands.

On the S10, this security comes in the form of the Exynos 9820 — a proprietary semiconductor containing cryptographic key management technology.

With its own unique "digital fingerprint", this chip is impossible to clone, and acts as an embedded hardware wallet: transactions are passed into the chip, signed, and then passed out again.

Unlike other chips on the smartphone, no apps will have the ability to read or write to this chip, theoretically creating a much more secure digital environment for the storage of private keys than you might get with a typical wallet downloaded from the Google Play store.

But, in a move that has attracted some criticism, Samsung also appear to have added a backdoor which makes the private keys accessible to them. In the details released with the phone, this is said to enable users to recover their private keys in the event of theft or loss through Samsung's Find My Mobile service. While this aspect of the Keystore does raise eyebrows, it should be evaluated in the context of almost 20% of the total supply of bitcoin already being lost forever — and the valid concerns many users have about their own ability not to lose their private keys.

Dapp-friendly Smartphone

Although this is the first official news of Samsung's crypto-friendly S10, the company has long been rumoured to have an interest in cryptocurrency. Back in December 2018, Samsung confirmed these rumours when it quietly filed for several blockchain-related trademarks; reserving the names Blockchain KeyStore, Blockchain Key Box, and Blockchain Core as EU trademarks, and the simple "Samsung crypto wallet" as a UK trademark. These names gave few details away to potential competitors, but let the world know that crypto custody was on the agenda for smartphones, tablets, and portable computers.

With the official announcement, it now seems that Samsung has more on the agenda than the simple custody provided by hardware wallets.

In an introductory video at the D'light store in Seoul, Samsung explained how to send funds through the crypto wallet app, revealing support for ether, bitcoin, and further cryptocurrencies and tokens through an "add cryptocurrency" button.

These are fairly standard features for crypto wallets, but the video also revealed a menu item titled 'Dapps', which suggests that the app will function as a Web3 wallet. This would enable the use of Dapps on the phone without the addition of a third-party service like Metamask or Cipher's TrustWallet.

With cryptocurrency integrated by default, the experience of using Dapps could be more akin to interacting with the blockchain through Web3 browsers like Opera's recently released Android browser. This could not only make Dapps more user-friendly for crypto enthusiasts, but also expose them to a wider audience, and help distinguish Samsung's offering from a growing number of options in the blockchain-friendly smartphone arena.

An opportunity to take the lead

When it ships this month, the S10 will join competitors including HTC's Exodus 1 — which has a cold storage wallet segregated within the phone; Sirin Labs' Finney, which also offers cold storage; and the Huawei Honor range, which are sold with a BTC.com bitcoin wallet pre-installed.

In the global smartphone market, which slumped around one percent in 2018, these phones have found mixed fortunes: despite recent reports from Bloomberg, Sirin Labs claim that the Finney is in high demand, and has received more orders than expected. The Exodus 1, on the other hand, suffered an underwhelming reception in December 2018 as news emerged of Samsung's potential move into the market. As the flagship phone of the largest manufacturer in the world, Samsung's S10 will benefit from significant smartphone pedigree, and is likely to see the widest distribution of a blockchain-friendly smartphone yet.

Furthermore, terms and conditions released with the phone suggest a possible connection to Samsung's payment platform Samsung Pay — a partnership which could potentially one day make crypto payments possible in any establishment accepting contactless payments.