- Nokia has disclosed plans to provide digital asset encryption products
- The telecom company has filed a patent in China showing that it intends to provide a device or software that encrypts virtual assets
- The patent was applied in July but made public on December 17
Telecom company Nokia is planning to enter the virtual assets world to offer digital assets encryption products as a device or computer software. Nokia filed the patent in China in July but the application was made public last week on December 17. According to the patent, the telecom company wants to create a “non-transitory computer-readable medium […] comprising program instructions for […] encrypting a digital asset using a first key,” a description that points to a Nokia-created crypto wallet or custody solution.
Nokia To Provide Digital Asset Encryption and Decryption
Nokia’s intentions were disclosed by China’s patent office, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Further details of Nokia’s intentions show that the encryption system will also provide identification of the encrypted virtual assets.
Apart from performing encryption functions, the “computer-readable medium” will perform decryption functions for “an encrypted digital asset.” The patent, however, isn’t Nokia’s first entry into the virtual world.
In 2021, for example, it tapped blockchain to power its enterprise-grade data platform known as the Nokia Data Marketplace. Last year, the telecom company embraced metaverse technology to link beer brewers in Australia and Germany.
Nokia Joins the Crowd
Nokia isn’t the first tech company to join the crypto and blockchain worlds. Samsung has also in the past filed a patent describing a blockchain KeyStore, a software application presumed to provide safe storage for crypto private keys.
Samsung has, however, made more strides in the virtual world than Nokia. It, for example, offered to provide a crypto vault in the Samsung Galaxy S10 released a few years ago. Samsung has also invested in blockchain projects and partnered with crypto platforms like Crypto.com.
With Nokia filing a patent to encrypt digital assets, it’s to be seen whether the telecom company will make a mark in the web3 space.
