With the addition of folding devices, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 included – and everyone’s drooling over just how thin it is. Trust me, I get it. Phil Berne is rooting for flip phones. While the mainstream tech world is caught up in thinner and thinner profligacy and seamless folding, there’s another big storm cloud I think is starting to form that has the potential to threaten the entire crypto ecosystem and your sovereignty over your digital wealth.

Is thin worth your crypto safety?

Let's be brutally honest: thin comes at a cost. And in the case of cryptocurrency, that expensive cost might be your safety. Unlike the Asus, the Z Fold 7 seems set on a vision for a thinner device. It’s extending the limits of what we previously believed was physically feasible. Are we doing this at the cost of strong hardware security in the name of an attractive aesthetic?

Integrating a truly secure element – the kind found in dedicated hardware wallets like Ledger or Trezor – into a phone that's chasing millimeters is a monumental challenge. We’re growing more reliant on third-party hardware wallets. This reliance shifts our trust to a physical connection to a consumer-based device, which is optimized for convenience, not security.

That connection point? A potential attack vector. But that lovely, foldable screen might just be your new backdoor for the malicious actors that are going to steal your keys. Are you willing to bet your hard-earned crypto on Samsung's security protocols, especially when they're constantly patching vulnerabilities? I know I'm not.

Centralization folds into crypto's future?

The Samsung product is as Samsung, a massive multinational corporation. While they produce some really cool hardware, every piece of code, every engineering decision on manufacturing is still in the hands of the central overlord. I mean, isn’t that the whole point of crypto—to decentralize power?

Are we unknowingly replicating the processes that are upholding the systems that we’re all seeking to change? Adopting things like the Z Fold 7 as our main method of engaging with the blockchain could be exactly that. By doing so, we are surrendering our digital sovereignty to a private company. The harm done Their actions serve to protect the interests of shareholders, rather than protecting the core principles of decentralization and censorship resistance.

Think about the implications. Just imagine the pressure Samsung would be under from every government around the world to build in backdoors. They might be able to prevent access to certain dApps. Your collaborative, sharing, “decentralized” life, streamed through this centralized rectangular device just got a lot less decentralized all of a sudden, huh?

Is folding good for your dApps?

With a bigger screen and better multitasking features, the Z Fold 7 should be fantastic for dApps. Let's be realistic. Now developers will scramble to optimize their applications for this mostly niche device. Or will the Z Fold 7 just add to the Android ecosystem’s already overwhelming fragmentation?

Consider the user experience. And will dApps really be more usable on a foldable screen? Or will the new form factor present unforeseen challenges and complications? Will the larger screen just open up more real estate to lure consumers into phishing sites and other frauds?

The potential for effortless dApp integration on the Z Fold 7 is seducing. I suspect the real-world situation will be much more complex. Developers would be put in an uneasy situation, maximize or leave. That fact will realistically only be a net benefit for the small number of users who have the newest Samsung flagship.

I’m not here to claim that the Z Fold 7 is diabolical by nature. It's a marvel of engineering. We must recognize the unintentional, adverse effects of pursuing what is popular. We should be asking if and how these devices corrupt the spirit of what crypto should be. Individual control, censorship resistance, and true decentralization.

Don't let the sleekness fool you. The Galaxy Z Fold 7’s thinness masks an ugly secret. That big secret might be endangering the security of your crypto. Instead, it could reinforce centralized power structures and threaten to weaken the very foundations of this decentralized revolution.