Smartphone maker OnePlus likely exploring crypto space; asks its ‘community’ about use of crypto wallets
The survey asks for any problem or inconvenience users have encountered when investing in or holding cryptocurrency. It also tries to understand the usage of any crypto wallet such as Coinbase Wallet etc.
Now the Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is probably making a beeline for the blockchain and cryptocurrency space amid growing crypto buzz globally. The company’s experimental software arm OneLab is running a survey, which Financial Express Online couldn’t independently verify, to gauge the interest of its “OnePlus community” towards investment in cryptocurrencies, platforms used to invest in cryptos, use of crypto wallets, and purchase of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The introduction to the survey titled OnePlus Blockchain Research read, “as blockchain technology are becoming increasingly popular, the OneLab team are curious to know how our community are engaged with blockchain-related activities. The survey will take 5 to 10 minutes to fill out and we really appreciate your help.”
OnePlus didn’t immediately respond to the email to confirm the development and details of its possible blockchain/crypto initiative.
“Institutional adoption increasingly makes cryptocurrencies the preferred instrument of account and store of value. The crypto space is here to stay and institutions want to capitalise on the upside. Every major institution will keep part of its cash equivalents in cryptocurrencies very soon. Corporate clients manage their balance sheets in a bunch of different currencies such as INR, USD, etc. All companies will hold 1-2 per cent of that in Bitcoin,” Darshan Bathija, CEO of Singapore-headquartered crypto exchange platform Vauld told Financial Express Online.
The survey begins with questions around investments: Have you ever invested in any types of cryptocurrencies, how long have you been investing in cryptocurrency, on average how often do you buy or sell cryptos, on average how often do you check the price of cryptos, how much money have you invested in cryptos, and what trading platforms/apps do you use to invest in cryptos. It further asks for any problems or inconvenience users have encountered when investing in or holding cryptocurrency. The survey moves on to understand usage of any crypto wallet such as Coinbase Wallet etc., and towards the end, it tries to check on NFTs, platforms used to buy NFTs, and whether users have ever tried to create their own NFT.
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei’s Twitter account was last month hacked to announce a fake news that his company Nothing has launched a new project in the crypto space. Hackers sought Ethereum on a particular address in exchange for a crypto called Nothing coin.
OnePlus’ experiment in crypto space, if true, follows a long list of corporates and institutions looking at cryptocurrencies. Last month, iPhone maker Apple had posted a job titled “Business Development Manager – Alternative Payments” to hire a business development manager to lead its “Alternative Payments Partnerships”, having over five-year experience with alternative payment providers including cryptocurrency apart from digital wallets, buy now pay later programmes, etc., the job post had read. Other enterprises including Tesla, JPMorgan, PayPal, MicroStrategy, Goldman Sachs, and more have either been exploring cryptos particularly Bitcoin, or have already adopted it for payments.
