Samsung Group is showing increasing interest in bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology, which according to experts is the next big thing since the internet.

Korea Times reported that CEOs of Samsung Group subsidiaries on Wednesday attended a lecture on blockchain technology by Prof. Roh Sang-kyu of Seoul National University. Sang-kyu believes that the technology has the potential to change the world.

Local media even reported that Samsung Group has plans to set up a blockchain-based system among its financial subsidiaries by October. However, a Samsung Group spokesman denied the report, saying the lecture was aimed at getting the executives acquainted with the basic concepts of the technology.

Samsung SDS, a global IT services company and affiliate of the Samsung Group, announced an investment in Korean blockchain platform company Blocko last month, in order to retain leading-edge technology.

"The startup has core technology in blockchains. We found it very promising and decided to invest in the company," a Samsung SDS spokesperson told Korea Times, adding that the company has plans to explore opportunities in diverse sectors using blockchain technology.

Samsung’s interest in blockchain technology, however, is not that recent. Last January, IBM unveiled its proof of concept for Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT), a system developed in partnership with Samsung that uses blockchain technology to build a distributed network of devices – a decentralized Internet of Things.