Despite ICO and crypto exchange bans, Chinese public support for blockchain applications persists. According to Bloomberg, starting May 11, Huawei Technologies will be offering Chinese users access to a Bitcoin wallet through their native AppGallery.
Huawei Partners with BTC.com
BTC.com, owner of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool and subsidiary of Bitmain, has partnered with Huawei Technologies to integrate Bitcoin wallets into all Huawei handheld devices starting this Friday.
The AppGallery containing the BTC.com Bitcoin wallet will be pre-installed on all new Huawei and Honor smartphones and will soon be available for install on older models as well.
Untapped Chinese Markets
In the past few months, the Chinese government has created a rather hostile environment for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries – shutting down all cryptocurrency exchanges and outlawing ICOs completely.
In addition, the Chinese government restricts the Google Play Store and sections of Apple’s iTunes to the public, limiting access to apps like the BTC.com Bitcoin wallet.
By partnering with Chinese telecommunications mogul Huawei, BTC.com is able to penetrate the massive and exclusive Chinese markets for crypto wallet user acquisition.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Alejandro de la Torre, BTC.com’s vice president of small business operations, said:
“It’s a good opportunity to tap into the Chinese market… The use of cashless payments with apps is very big and the traditional banking system is lacking, so there’s a good use case for crypto payments to grow there.”
Huawei’s Plans for Blockchain Integration
Since their announcement to launch a blockchain-ready smartphone in March, Huawei has shown considerable support for the future of blockchain integration and decentralized applications (dApps).
Through this recent partnership with BTC.com, the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer takes its first steps towards offering seamless access to blockchain apps and decentralized services.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Jaime Gonzalo, vice president of Huawei’s mobile services said:
“From our leadership position in China, the tip of the spear of mobile payments, we expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future.”
