What you may want to know about Conflux's blockchain SIM card

The Conflux blockchain’s token is one of the best performers this year, up 1,700% since Jan. 1, from 2 cents to more than 40 cents, quickly taking its market cap to more than $800 million.

The growth is largely due to its deep roots in China and a blockchain-enabled SIM card that is seen as a unique entry point for everyday users to interact with cryptocurrency applications.

As CoinDesk reported, these will be built in partnership with China Telecom, the country’s second-largest wireless operator with an estimated 390 million subscribers. Conflux Network said at the time that China Telecom will launch its first BSIM pilot in Hong Kong later this year. This may be followed by pilots in key cities in mainland China, such as Shanghai. BSIM cards will manage and store users’ public and private keys and digitally sign in a way that private keys don’t exit the card . Users who switch to BSIM cards will be able to securely store digital assets, conveniently transfer their digital assets, and display their assets in various applications. CoinDesk spoke with Ming Wu, CTO of Conflux, to learn more about BSIM, Conflux’s future plans, how the card differs from a crypto wallet, and the downsides of using BSIM.

How does a BSIM card work and how is it different from a standard SIM card?

The BSIM card essentially integrates hardware crypto wallet functionality into the SIM card . It can manage and store the user's public and private keys in the card and digitally sign in a way that the private key does not exit the card. The BSIM card can also allow for encrypted storage and key retrieval. The storage capacity and computing power of the BSIM card are more than 10 times that of a traditional SIM card.

How does the BSIM card “lower the barrier to entry” for Metaverse applications?

Today, the number of users of SIM cards is huge. Most of them are users outside the traditional world and the Web3 world. They are all potential users and can be converted into Web3 users by upgrading to BSIM cards. We are developing a mobile application that can access BSIM cards, which will help these users manage their digital assets according to their traditional habits without having to understand encryption keys. This will make it easier for them to participate in activities in Web3 and the metaverse. At the same time, for original crypto users, BSIM cards make it more convenient to access hardware wallets. It brings users the best compromise between security and convenience. Therefore, it is also very attractive to cryptocurrency users .

What are the main advantages of BSIM compared to crypto wallets?

The main advantage of the BSIM card is that it provides the security of a hardware cold wallet with the convenience and portability. Users only need to install the BSIM card on their phone to get very high wallet security. This will not disrupt their normal mobile user experience.

What are the potential disadvantages of BSIM?

For some users who are very concerned about privacy, this will be a small disadvantage. In some regions, especially in mainland China, BSIM cards must be obtained through [Know Your Customer], so your mobile phone number may be associated with your public key account . From another perspective, this may not be a weakness, because this makes the way to use such crypto wallets in China more compliant, so it will be easier to get support from the Chinese government . This also makes it possible to link the user's on-chain information in the virtual world with a bunch of off-chain information in the real world, unifying the metaverse and the real world.

What is the product development timeline? When do you expect to test the prototype in Hong Kong?

We have built a prototype chip and tested it on the Conflux network. The feasibility has been verified . We are planning mass production with our China Telecom partners. We expect to start production in Hong Kong this year .

With policy changes and increased support for blockchain technology, Hong Kong has a very friendly policy towards the crypto industry. And its ties with mainland China are getting closer and closer. It plays an appropriate role as a bridge connecting China's Web3 industry with the wider global market.

What role will Conflux play in this growth?

Conflux is the only regulatory compliant blockchain in China . It has solid technical design, implementation and maintenance, and is supported by a world-class team with strong technical expertise. Therefore, it is natural for it to play a leading role in helping Hong Kong and mainland China expand in the Web3 space.