LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE 360 SERIES – LATIN AMERICA, BUENOS AIRES: The CEO of blockchain hardware company Pundi X, Zac Cheah (pictured), demonstrated a live phone call over the blockchain ecosystem on stage, a first for the region.

Cheah told delegates blockchain can be “be part of the mobile carrier revolution”.

One way for operators to do this is through blockchain-based smartphones, he explained. Pundi X launched such a device, the XPhone, in October and is keen to partner with operators to sell the unit.

XPhone is powered by the company’s Function X ecosystem which is built entirely on and for blockchain. Pundi X said the device significantly expanded the use of blockchain technology beyond financial transfers, while noting it “can operate independently of centralised carriers”, with users able to “route phone calls and messages via blockchain nodes without the need for phone numbers”.

Beyond XPhone, Cheah explained decentralised apps are another area where operators could get involved with the technology.

These run on a peer-to-peer network of computers and eliminate the need for app stores, connecting users and providers directly.

Currently, the most popular of these apps have only 1,000 daily active users, compared with the most popular mobile app, which has some 1.5 billion.

“Perhaps with blockchain, the decentralised apps will grow and operators can capitalise on this,” Cheah noted.