Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Executive Officer of Tether and co-founder of peer-to-peer platform Holepunch, recently hinted at plans to potentially develop a “Pear Phone” in the future.
In an X post, Ardoino floated the idea of building an Android-compatible phone based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The device would come pre-installed with Holepunch’s suite of peer-to-peer applications, including the Keet encrypted messaging app, other apps built on the Pear Runtime P2P protocol, and the Bitkit Bitcoin wallet developed by Synonym.
“Eventually we should build the Pear phone. Android compatible (AOSP), with Keet, Pears apps, and Bitkit wallet preinstalled. App store will be P2P as well. No Google apps by default.”
Notably, Ardoino suggested the Pear Phone would not include Google apps by default. He also mentioned plans for a peer-to-peer app store for the device.
The concept builds upon Holepunch’s mission to enable serverless, unstoppable P2P applications that promote user privacy and freedom from Big Tech platforms. Holepunch, which Tether backs, recently launched Pear Runtime, an open-source protocol allowing developers to build P2P apps with no server infrastructure costs.
Pear Runtime powers Holepunch’s flagship Keet app, which enables fully encrypted video calls and messaging directly between devices with no central servers. Bitfinex, Hypercore, and Tether collaborated to found Holepunch with the goal of “unlocking global communications and empowering freedom of speech.”
The Pear Phone concept aligns with Tether’s recent restructuring to expand its focus beyond a stablecoin company. By establishing new divisions like Tether Data, Tether Finance, Tether Power, and Tether Edu, the company aims to drive innovation in AI, P2P platforms, financial inclusion, sustainable mining, blockchain education, and even biotech. This multi-pronged approach positions Tether to harness emerging technologies and shape the future of finance and tech. A potential Pear Phone, powered by P2P apps and Tether’s broader ecosystem, could be a vital piece of this strategy to empower users and challenge the dominance of Big Tech giants.
While still just an idea at this stage, a potential Pear Phone would represent a significant step towards Holepunch and Tether’s vision of a decentralized, user-controlled mobile ecosystem. It remains to be seen if and when the project may come to fruition. But Ardoino’s tweet offers an intriguing glimpse at how Tether’s profits and Holepunch’s P2P tech could converge in a freedom-focused smartphone.