Samsung Files Patent for ‘Programmable Blockchain Solid State Drive’

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has filed a patent for a blockchain-enabled solid state drive (SSD).

Improving speed and life span

Local industry news outlet Decenter reported on Sept. 3 that Samsung applied for the “programmable blockchain solid state drive and switch” patent on Jan. 15, and that it was published on Feb. 2. 

Details of the newly designed system are sparse, but it will reportedly be used to improve the speed and life span of blockchain-aware storage devices.

To achieve this, Samsung intends to use Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). FPGAs are devices which can be placed in between general-purpose processing devices and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).

This kind of device can be programmed to calculate algorithms more efficiently than general-purpose computer devices can. But unlike ASICS, they can be reprogrammed to be adapted to different algorithms. Those features made them a more flexible, but less efficient, alternative to ASICS in cryptocurrency mining.

Samsung is taking crypto seriously

Samsung, one of the biggest producers of electronics in the world, has been integrating more blockchain-based features into its mobile devices. Last month, the electronics giant integrated Pundi X’s XWallet app into their Samsung Blockchain Wallet alongside more than 30 other cryptos.

As Cointelegraph reported last month, Chinese online retail giant Alibaba has applied for a United States patent entitled “Domain Name Management Scheme for Cross-Chain Interactions in Blockchain Systems.”