Samsung is into blockchain in various ways, notably integrating a hardware blockchain security vault into their most recent smartphone.
Earlier this year, the company filed an application for a patent which described an SSD storage system using blockchain technology. The patent could greatly impact existing mining outfits which use ASICs and GPUs to secure various blockchains.
Samsung also manufactures mining chips.
Blockchain Security: Brought to You by Samsung?
If the company ever decided to make mining hardware, it could immediately dominate the market, giving Bitmain a true run for its money. Bitmain primarily, if not exclusively, gets its chips from Taiwan.
The company has been dipping its toes deeper and deeper into blockchain for years.
As one of the world’s most successful technology companies, it wouldn’t make sense for them to ignore the crypto elephant in the room completely.
Samsung’s crypto efforts may pay off after all, with some analysts predicting a $25,000 BTC run by the end of the year. If that happens, then interest in all things cryptocurrency will return – including interest in phones, like Samsung’s Galaxy S10, which come equipped with some form of blockchain.
Interest in blockchain, Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency typically builds as the price heads north. Interest can be gained when the price drops, as well. In either case, mainstream coverage is easy to find. When things are stable or “boring” in the crypto markets, however, little attention is paid.
Companies like Samsung are making bigger moves in the crypto space while the market is quiet. Still waters run deep, however, and when crypto moves, it moves big.
Samsung’s Many Crypto Moves
Samsung’s patent describes a system which improve the ability of miners to adapt to blockchain networks.
Miner nodes generally consume a significant amount of power due to its high usage of their processors and the significant amount of cooling needed to keep the processors within their standard operating ranges, whereas an FPGA generally does not require as much power to deliver similar performance and, accordingly, generally does not require as much cooling. […] Accordingly, aspects of embodiments of the present invention are directed to a programmable network data storage device, such as a network solid state drive (SSD), that is configured to implement features for storing blocks of blockchains and for participating in a peer-to-peer blockchain network as a mining node (a “blockchain-aware storage device”).
Samsung will likely win the patent.
The question is: what will they do with it?
Will they manufacture equipment based on the patent, or license the idea to companies like Bitmain?
Thus far, we don’t know what they might do. Creating an improved ability to mine various blockchains with the same hardware could be a boon to both miners and networks at large. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.
