HTC introduces Mobile Phone Monero Mining to decentralize the hash rate

HTC, the mobile phone maker that has shown special interest in applying blockchain technology to mobile phones, has now decided to enter the mining realm. HTC Exodus, its flagship blockchain phone, has partnered with Mida Labs to bring cryptocurrency mining to the mobile phone arena for the first time.

Using the DeMiner app, developed by Midas Labs, the app will be available for download in Q2 2020.

The immediate concern is that the concept of cryptocurrency mining brings high computing power and energy consumption to the fore. But HTC and Midas Labs claim to have made this consistent on mobile devices using the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, Monero (XMR).

The DeMiner app is said to be comparable to regular desktop computers in terms of hash rate capability, but its power consumption for that computing power is much lower. This allows mobile devices to be suitable for cryptocurrency mining (in a connected state) for the first time.

Midas Labs allows EXODUS 1S users to mine at least $ 0.0038 of XMR per day on average, while the cost of electricity is less than 50%. Part of the reason for this effort is to deepen the decentralization process by providing hardware-related solutions for the mobile industry.

Translating mining into mobile

The traditional idea of ​​cryptocurrency mining conjures up images of GPUs as powerful as a minimum, or in a day of ASIC chips, massive hardware specifically built for the express purpose of solving those equations. Mining on a cell phone seems to go against the grain. However, as Phil Chen, HTC’s decentralized CEO, says

“Bitcoin and mobile phones are the most important and impactful technological inventions of recent times. I am fortunate to be involved at the forefront of both of these technologies. What drives our decisions about these technologies are our values; in particular, the question of how we can decentralize further and create a more inclusive monetary system.

“Mobile mining is an important research topic for understanding the development of secure cryptographic networks. The number of mobile phones in 2020 is approaching 3.5 billion, which would decentralize and further distribute the hash rate and mining power of such crypto networks.

“Monero is an important and crucial experiment resisting the trend of centralized mining. It uses an algorithm called “Random X” suitable for CPU-based computing. The use of this algorithm is actively fighting some of the centralizing forces that create Bitcoin mining pools. “

“In addition, mature development of energy-saving software on mobile devices, as opposed to energy-hungry laptops or desktops, amplifies the effectiveness and profitability of mobile mining. “

“At HTC, our position is to use the mobile phone to promote further decentralization. The mobile phone has become people’s primary computing device and making it accessible to all empowers people. “

“In other words, the question is not: should we use an ASIC or a CPU. The question is: how can we decentralize further and ensure a more inclusive monetary system? “

Dr. Jri Lee, founder and CEO of Midas Labs and a professor at National Taiwan University, echoes Chern’s thoughts on a higher degree of decentralization.

“Cryptocurrency mining should never be limited to centralized farms or giant miners. Mining on mobile or other personal devices perfectly satisfies the core spirit of the blockchain, which is decentralization. Today, the most valuable cryptocurrencies are still based on proof of work. That is, mining is the indispensable part of these cryptocurrencies, “he told me.

“Mobile mining will add significantly to decentralization as it increases network security. If we are helping to secure networks, all cryptocurrency users will benefit. We must also keep in mind that there are billions of smartphones in the world. Using Monero as an example, the mobile hash rate could easily exceed the existing hash rate if only 1% of smartphones were mining. Bringing mining to mobile devices is a very important step for the blockchain. “

Concerns about Monero

Monero is the cryptocurrency of choice by HTC to start this journey towards further decentralization of cryptocurrencies through the proliferation of mobile devices, however, it is a coin that woos a bit of controversy.

Being a privacy-centric coin, it is a coin that has uses outside the realms of what is legal. The added anonymity on Monero sees coin regulators scrubbing the wrong way and saw companies react negatively towards it.

BitBay, based in Estonia, announced Monday that Monero (XML) will no longer be tradable in February due to regulatory concerns about its potential uses in money laundering. This is followed by OKEx who also dropped the coin. Coinbase in the UK has also launched Zcash, a similarly skewed privacy coin.

For Chern, issues with Monero’s privacy aspects shouldn’t affect its technical ability to be pulled as a breakthrough for mobile devices.

“Any issues with Monero’s privacy don’t affect his technical ability to be extracted in this first major step and step forward.

“The privacy and fungible aspect of Monero is mostly irrelevant to banks’ AML and KYC. In other words, banks can still successfully perform AML and KYC with a privacy coin like Monero. Asking the customer, for example, where your Monero comes from is an off-chain problem. Also, I would argue that the fungibility aspect of Monero makes it even more antifragile as a medium of exchange than a piece of property with clear provenance, “he added.

“Going down a bit, it’s basically financial institutions, not just banks. It is all financial institutions that are required to make AML, KYC and other regulations. ”

“The distinction to be made is that we should regulate people and companies. We should not delude ourselves into thinking that money must become titled property. That experiment was already done hundreds of years ago. “