Blockchain-based SIM cards to be launched in China

China Telecom, the second largest state-owned wireless operator in China, and Conflux Network, a project funded by the Shanghai government, have announced the launch of a BSIM pilot program by the end of this year. China Telecom and Conflux Network have entered into a partnership that will develop and release blockchain-enabled SIM cards.

According to Conflux developers, the BSIM project will become the largest hardware blockchain product in the world, uniting a huge number of users and applications. The BSIM card will store and manage the user’s public and private keys, as well as allow the secure use of digital signatures without disclosing them. It will enable payment transactions, NFTs, decentralized applications, and access to meta-universes.

Following the announcement of Conflux’s partnership with China Telecom, the CFX native token grew by more than 42% overnight. According to CoinGecko, the token is currently trading at $ 0.07. CFX’s market capitalization is $ 154 million and daily trading volume is $ 104 million.

Conflux Network is a high-performance first-tier blockchain. The project was created as a competitor to Ethereum and was supported by Chinese government agencies. The Shanghai authorities, as well as large private investors, including Sequoia China, Huobi Group, Shunwei Capital, and Rong360, participated in the financing of Conflux.

There is information that the Chinese government collects private information about users of Xiaomi, OnePlus and Oppo Realme smartphones. During the network analysis of the phones, the researchers refused to send personal data in all the proposed transactions. However, the smartphones still collected and sent information: phone numbers and device identifiers (IMEI and MAC addresses), geolocation data, and «social connections» data. Given the close ties between China’s private industry and the government, the researchers emphasized that the collection of sensitive information could open up a range of broader issues. Obviously, the launch of a blockchain-based SIM card will increase the possibilities for control.