LG Electronics, the South Korean tech giant, could be getting ready to introduce a new paradigm in entertainment and blockchain technology.
According to a report by Ana Paula Pereira for Cointelegraph published on 12 May 2023, LG has filed a patent for a blockchain-based Smart TV, an innovative design allowing owners to trade nonfungible tokens (NFTs) right from their living room.
The patent application was disclosed in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) global database. As Cointelegraph reports, the patent, initially submitted in November 2021, is under substantive examination. This crucial step could result in granting or refusing legal protection to LG’s novel invention.
The technology detailed in the patent application allows devices to connect with a crypto wallet and an NFT market server, thus facilitating transactions. When the device is linked to an NFT market server, it generates onscreen QR codes, allowing users to complete transactions via their cryptocurrency wallets, per the information shared by Cointelegraph.
This news follows LG’s launch of its NFT platform, the LG Art Lab Marketplace, in September 2022. This platform, according to Cointelegraph, enables TVs running webOS 5.0 or later versions to trade digital artworks.
However, uncertainty remains about the TV’s integration capabilities. It is still unclear if the TV will integrate with various wallets or solely with LG’s Wallypto, the company’s proprietary smartphone crypto wallet, which is also available on its Art Lab Marketplace.
LG’s adoption of Web3 solutions on its devices is gaining momentum. Cointelegraph’s report mentioned that LG had announced a partnership with cloud-based technology platforms Oorbit and Pixelynx in January 2023, a collaboration intended to transport the metaverse into viewers’ living rooms. Per the report, this partnership allows customers to explore interconnected virtual worlds, concerts, and artificial intelligence multiplayer games through their LG TVs.
Yet, LG isn’t alone in this endeavor to blend Web3 with its products. Samsung, a competitor, has also been making strides in this direction. Last year, Samsung announced a smart TV lineup integrated with an NFT platform, and it reportedly continues to actively invest in NFT and metaverse projects via its venture capital arm, Samsung Next.
