Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is working on a new Android phone which will be powered by blockchain technology, The Next Web reported.

Dubbed ‘Exodus’, the new phone will be “dedicated to decentralized applications [DApps] and security”, according to the official website. In a blog post, Phil Chen, Decentralized Chief Officer at HTC Exodus, wrote:

“The HTC Exodus is the first native blockchain phone dedicated to bringing end consumers the best decentralized application (DApp) experiences, including a built-in secure hardware enclave, and helping underlying protocols expand their base of dedicated nodes, thus expanding the total blockchain ecosystem.”

“Through the Exodus, we are also excited to be supporting underlying protocols such as Bitcoin, Lightning Networks, Ethereum, Dfinity, and more.”

Speaking with CoinDesk, Chen said that they are targeting the end of 2018 to ship the blockchain phone. He said:

"We'll also be releasing some more white papers in the July-August time frame that have more of that, can have the phone be a node as opposed to mid-to-high-end servers.”

"We're going to do a pre-sale, and we'll accept ethereum and bitcoin, for the pre-order.”

HTC’s blockchain smartphone initiative follows a similar initiative by Sirin Labs, which raised $157.8 million in a crowdsale to fund the development of FINNEY devices – the cyber-protected, blockchain-enabled mobile phone and PC. The latter recently unveiled the specifications of the highly anticipated phone.