Blockchain SIM cards integrate bank cards

The world's first ever "blockchain-enabled" SIM card has been revealed in Shanghai.

Known as a BSIM card, it's actually an integration of a SIM card and a bank card, providing a safer and more convenient access to Web3 and Metaverse tech, the next phases in the development of the Internet.

It was developed by Conflux, a world-leading public blockchain developed by the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute, in cooperation with China Telecom, China's second largest telecom operator with over 390 million users.

BSIM card looks pretty much the same as a traditional SIM card, but its storage space is 10 to 20 times larger, and its computing power is 10 times stronger. It can also reduce the risks of being maliciously attacked, according to Long Fan, director of Tree-Graph.

"Using a BSIM card as entry to Web3 helps to improve digital economic management," he added.

Li Anmin, deputy director of the China Telecom Research Institute, said the company plans to promote the use of BSIM cards in digital identification certification, Internet of Things, Metaverse assets management and other applications.

By the end of 2022, China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan (US$7.1 trillion), ranking the second in the world. Its proportion in the country's GDP has increased to 41.5 percent.

Blockchain plays a vital role in boosting the digital economy, while R&D of public blockchain is internationally competitive.

Shanghai, hailed as a highland to develop blockchain in China, is aiming to build a new generation blockchain ecosystem with global influence, according to Wang Ye, deputy director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

Conflux, for instance, is leading the drafting of "IEEE P3217: Standard for Application Interface Specification for Blockchain Systems."