Samsung continues to make inroads within the blockchain industry. Recognizing the global trend, the Korean tech giant has now announced that they will be accepting various cryptocurrencies as form of payment. Although we continually hear about new companies accepting crypto as payment, it is not often that one as large and prominent as Samsung makes an announcement such as this. Planned as a phased launch, initial stores that will accept crypto are located in the Baltic Regions. More specifically, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. This will no doubt eventually be expanded to more regions in time. For now, this service will be offered through the use of payments processor CopPay.
A Diverse Cast
Currencies that Samsung is accepting for its products include the following:
– A custom built Smart Asset Blockchain
– Global Decentralized Currency
– Global Decentralized Currency
– Blockchain App Platform
– Digital Asset for Payments
– Media Based Reward Platform
– A Digital Money System
As expected, those being accepted are industry leaders such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Surprisingly, Samsung is accepting a broad array of cryptocurrencies. These range from innovative platforms such as NEM and ETH to privacy-centric coins such as DASH. For the crypto-enthusiast, this is exciting news, as this diversity of acceptance will make crypto purchases even easier.
Earlier Ventures
Earlier in the year Samsung also announced that it would be releasing its own line of mining chips. These chips will be used with Halong Mining. With an ASIC industry dominated by Chinese Bitmain, Samsung is one of the few companies in the world with enough resources to disrupt the field. Samsung not only has the experience and R&D to create a great product, but remain a household name. When new miners are faced with purchasing an ASIC device with chips made by either Samsung or Bitmain, who will they choose? Surely the well-recognized name with a history of good service.
These Samsung chips first began to roll out in January of 2018. The chips are used in a specific type of device referred to as an ASIC miner. This stands for ‘application specific integrated circuit’. Although GPU’s can be used to mine, they are a jack-of-all-trades chip. They are not the most efficient, but are very versatile. For those serious about mining, ASIC miners are the popular choice. They are custom designed for a specific purpose. When not being used for this purpose, they are basically paperweights. When used for mining however, they offer the best bang-for-your-buck.
Positive Vibes?
Between the manufacturing of hardware, and the new revelation that they will be accepting cryptocurrencies as form of payment, Samsung clearly believes in the future of crypto. Announcements like this are important because adoption has a snowball effect. The more companies that sign up, the more that want to join for fear of missing out. The initial stages of acceptance are the hardest, and most tedious. These early days are slowly transitioning within the world of crypto into an exciting future.
