Vodafone, a telecommunications company based in the United Kingdom, plans to combine cryptocurrency wallets with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to introduce blockchain technology to smartphone consumers.
In a recent Yahoo Finance Future Focus video, David Palmer, CPO of PairPoint and Vodafone Blockchain Lead, discusses blockchain technology. Palmer talks about Vodafone’s plan to combine blockchain technology with mobile phone technology, namely using SIM cards.
This ambitious initiative coincides with a firm financial plan that entails over $3 billion in debt, including $1.8 billion in loans over the next two years, taken on by Vodafone Idea Ltd., a separate company operating in India in which Vodafone Group owns a 45% ownership.
Palmer emphasizes the significance of mobile phones as the primary access point for digital apps and commerce, highlighting the necessity of sim card technology for blockchain integration, given that the number of mobile phones in use is predicted to exceed 8 billion by 2023.
The discussion also covers the anticipated widespread uptake of blockchain-based digital wallets on smartphones, which are expected to reach 5.6 billion wallets by 2030.
Furthermore, information is given about Vodafone’s PairPoint Digital Asset Broker (DAB) technology, which enables decentralized digital identities for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and enables smooth transactions across public and private blockchains.
Vodafone Group has had a busy 2024 despite the financial squabbling with India-based Vodafone Idea Ltd., which recently sold off $2.2 billion worth of shares ahead of a debt-raising plan worth an estimated $3 billion.