According to Cointeegraph: UK-based telecommunications giant, Vodafone, has set its sights on integrating cryptocurrency wallets with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. As part of this ambitious plan, the company is reportedly aiming to raise $2.9 billion in debt, including $1.8 billion via loans, over the next two years.
David Palmer, Blockchain Lead at Vodafone, conveyed these developments in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance Future Focus. "By 2030 we’re expecting more than 20 billion mobile phones to be in operation...So we’ve focused on linking the sim card to digital identity, linking the sim card to blockchains, and using the cryptography we have in those sim cards for that integration," he stated.
According to Palmer, there are expectations for 8 billion smartphones and 5.6 billion crypto wallets to be in use by 2030. This would allow for blockchain adoption to reach nearly 70 percent of the global population.
Despite financial hiccups involving Vodafone Idea Ltd., a separate entity based in India in which Vodafone Group has a 45% stake, the company remains active. Notably, Vodafone Group entered into a 10-year strategic partnership with Microsoft recently, aimed at delivering innovative artificial intelligence (AI) services to Vodafone’s customers.
This step towards integrating blockchain hardware with cell technology isn't entirely new. In 2019, US startup VaultTel declared its intention to develop a physical wallet that would fit in a smartphone's SIM slot.
