Share this article
HTC to Increase Focus on Blockchain Phones, AI After New Staff Cuts
The Taiwanese tech firm said the downsize will allow it to retain an edge in an increasingly competitive space.
By Paddy Baker
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:04 a.m. Published Dec 18, 2019, 10:34 a.m.
Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC confirmed earlier this week that it would axe jobs to remain competitive and better focus on a handful of high-end products, including the EXODUS, its blockchain phone.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
HTC, which has around 3,000 employees, has not disclosed the scale of the lay-offs or the departments that will be most affected, according to a report from Taiwan News. This will be the third round of job cuts staff at the phone manufacturer have faced in the past five years. The company let go 2,250 employees in 2015, and cut a further 1,500 in July 2018.
HTC says the downsize will allow it to retain an innovative edge for a selection of its products. This includes its virtual reality system VIVE, as well as the EXODUS, its series of blockchain-powered smartphones.
First unveiled in May 2018, HTC’s EXODUS phones can connect to decentralized networks and allow users to download and run decentralized applications in much the same way as conventional apps run on smartphones. The phone also doubles up as a hardware wallet, providing owners with a secure and mobile means to hold their cryptocurrencies.
An in-wallet cryptocurrency swap feature, initially enabling quick exchanges between ERC-20 tokens, was added earlier this year.
The EXODUS went on sale at the end of 2018, and was initially only available to buy in cryptocurrency. HTC’s latest blockchain-powered phone, unveiled this October, can run a full bitcoin node. Future plans include adding support for Binance Chain, with a new special edition of the phone.
The EXODUS isn’t the only blockchain phone on the market. Sirin Labs also began shipping its own blockchain phone, the Finney, at the end of 2018. Samsung released its Galaxy S10 earlier this year, which is fully compatible with ERC-20s, dapps and bitcoin. There have also been reports that LG is contemplating launching its own product, although nothing has been confirmed.
More generally, competition in the smartphone space, from established rivals like Samsung and Apple, as well as new entrants like Google, has hit HTC’s market share and may have placed the company under substantial financial pressure. Revenue is reportedly down, with July sales only reaching $1.5 million, according to Liberty Times.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Stablecoin Adoption Is ‘Exploding' — Here's Why Wall Street Is Going All-In
Alchemy co-founder and president Joe Lau said stablecoin adoption is exploding as banks, fintechs and payment platforms push beyond the USDT/USDC exchange era.
What to know:
- Stablecoin usage is quickly broadening from crypto-native exchanges into payments, payroll and treasury as companies chase 24/7, digital-native settlement, according to Alchemy Co-founder and President Joe Lau.
- Banks are pushing tokenized deposits as a regulated, bank-native alternative that delivers stablecoin-like benefits for institutional clients.
- The endgame is a two-track system — stablecoins for open, two-party settlement; deposit tokens for bank ecosystems, until scale forces convergence and competition, Lau said.
Top Stories
