Mobile manufacturer HTC announced yesterday that its blockchain smartphone Exodus will now let users mine Monero cryptocurrency. To make this possible, HTC has partnered with ASIC chip design firm Midas Labs. This will allow Monero mining through an application called DeMiner.
It will be available for download in the second quarter of 2020. HTC also clarified that DeMiner will be designed in a way that the mining process deactivates automatically when the mobile phone is in use or when the charger is unplugged.
Exodus 1s is HTC’s blockchain-based smartphone that allows running a full Bitcoin (BTC) node.
Cryptocurrency mining is energy and cost-intensive activity. HTC’s latest move to allow mining on mobile phones is aimed to reduce energy and cost consumption.
On Thursday, we saw the latest update to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. It now sits at over $6 trillion.
That’s $6,000,000,000,000, or how some see it, 6,000,000,000,000 reasons to own Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/D5s4r6oRCA
— HTC EXODUS (@htcexodus) April 10, 2020
Phil Chen from HTC explained, “Mining on mobile is an important research topic in understanding the development of secure crypto networks. The number of mobile phones in 2020 is approaching 3.5 Billion, which would further decentralize and distribute the hash rate and mining power of such crypto networks.”
He added, “Monero is an important and crucial experiment resisting the trend of centralized mining. It utilizes an algorithm called “Random X” that is suitable for CPU-based calculation. The use of this algorithm is actively fighting some of the centralizing forces that create the mining pools in Bitcoin.”
Phil is also of the opinion that giant mining pools across the crypto space are dominating the hash rate. Hence, the decentralization of mining power via mobile phones is the only viable way to get rid of this problem and begin a culture of inclusivity in terms of crypto mining.
About the DeMiner App
DeMiner is the application that will allow Monero mining on HTC’s Exodus. Dr. Jri Lee, CEO, and founder of Midas Labs explained that the app has been designed in such a manner that a smartphone will have reasonable hash power almost similar to a desktop, but it will consume much less power. This will basically allow crypto mining from mobile devices (when connected to a charger) without consuming much electricity.
