HTC has made a blockchain phone that cryptocurrency fans will hate

What’s a blockchain smartphone, and do you need one? The release of HTC Exodus 1, the Taiwanese manufacturer’s much-hyped, much-anticipated blockchain-focused handset, has perhaps answered the first of those questions; the jury is still out on the second.

The tech press first got wind that Exodus was in the works in May, when HTC’s “Decentralized Chief Officer” Phil Chen hinted that he was working on a smartphone geared towards people owning cryptocurrency – such as bitcoin, ether, or one of the thousands of new coins that have been mushrooming over the last two years. In October “early access version” of Exodus was finally made available for purchase, at a cryptocurrency-only price of 0.15 bitcoin or 4.78 ether – equivalent to £750 at the time of writing. The handset will be available in 34 countries, with the noteworthy exception of China, which…