Samsung partners with Coinbase, Solana, and Sui to bring the USDC stablecoin into Samsung Wallet, covering 82 million Galaxy devices and supporting cross-border transfers and remittances, marking an extension of its Web3 exploration from asset management to everyday financial payment scenarios.
Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News
The story of Samsung and Crypto began seven years ago.
In 2019, Samsung already started trying to put crypto wallets and private key management tools into phones.
Seven years later, Samsung's sights have extended further to financial services such as stablecoin transfers and cross-border remittances.
On October 7, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced that it would collaborate with Coinbase, Bastion, Solana, Sui, and others to introduce USDC stablecoin functionality into Samsung Wallet, with plans to launch it to eligible Galaxy users in the United States in the last week of October. The potential device reach of this service is 82 million units.
From crypto asset management on mobile devices, to NFTs and partnerships with trading platforms, to equity investments in crypto exchanges, different business entities under Samsung have already made various attempts. This collaboration adds a more direct use case: users can come into contact with stablecoins in order to complete a transfer.
82 million Galaxy devices: Samsung puts USDC into its mobile wallet
If a self-custodial crypto wallet is used, users usually need to safeguard their private keys themselves and deal with issues such as network selection and address compatibility. The stablecoin functionality Samsung plans to provide this time aims to reduce some of these operations: users do not need to install an additional crypto app, nor do they need to manage private keys themselves.
The first supported asset, USDC, is a U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Circle. Eligible U.S. Galaxy users will in the future be able to buy and send USDC directly within Samsung Wallet.
According to the announcement, the new feature mainly includes two types of transfer scenarios.
The first is sending USDC to compatible external crypto wallets or exchange accounts. Samsung does not charge a fee for this type of transfer. However, the receiving platform may charge fees, and transfer speed also depends on blockchain network conditions.
The second is remitting funds to eligible bank accounts in more than 60 countries, with recipients receiving funds in local currency without needing to have a crypto wallet. This route requires fees, which vary depending on the destination and remittance amount.
Another eye-catching number in the announcement is 82 million. But a footnote in Samsung's announcement makes clear that this refers to the number of Galaxy devices in the United States compatible with Samsung Wallet. Actual use is also subject to service eligibility and identity verification requirements.
This collaboration involves multiple companies, each taking on different parts of the process.
Bastion will provide asset custody, compliance management, and cross-border remittance functions. Coinbase, through Coinbase Prime Vault, will provide sub-custody for the USDC involved. Samsung provides the access point and device-level security capabilities, and does not hold customer funds.
Solana and Sui provide support for the relevant blockchain networks, and the technical features emphasized in the two announcements differ.
The Solana Foundation said users will be able to make Solana-based USDC cross-border transfers through the familiar Samsung Wallet interface, and use integrated fiat on-ramp/off-ramp and local currency conversion functions.
Sui highlighted network fee-free stablecoin transfers. According to its explanation, users can send USDC on the Sui network without first holding SUI to pay network fees. This benefits from Sui's previously launched Gasless Stablecoin Transfers feature.
Judging from the disclosed features, Samsung plans to first provide stablecoin transfers and cross-border remittances. For consumers, the significance of this change lies in being able to access related services from a familiar wallet entry point, reducing the steps involved in using standalone crypto tools.
From blockchain wallets to NFTs: Samsung's seven years of Web3 exploration
Samsung's connection to the crypto industry can be traced back to 2019.
That year, Samsung provided a blockchain wallet and Keystore private key protection capabilities around the Galaxy S10, and introduced a Blockchain Platform SDK for developers. Developers could integrate blockchain functionality into mobile applications, while users could manage crypto assets and access decentralized applications through their phones.
In 2021, Samsung Blockchain Wallet added support for connecting to external hardware wallets such as Ledger Nano S and Nano X, allowing users to view and manage related crypto assets through Galaxy devices.
The product focus at this stage was private key protection, asset management, and developer tools. They were mainly aimed at people who already needed to use blockchain applications.
In 2022, Samsung launched Samsung Wallet, concentrating functions such as payment cards, membership cards, passwords, and digital keys into one app. At the time, the announcement also stated. Its crypto asset-related features included centralized viewing of the value of holdings on some exchanges.
That same year, Samsung also explored NFTs in different consumer electronics scenarios, but the scope of cooperation between TVs and Galaxy needs to be understood separately.
In the TV sector, Samsung partnered with the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway, which it had acquired, to provide NFT browsing, purchasing, trading, and display capabilities around some TV products. It is worth mentioning that Nifty Gateway officially announced its closure in February 2026.
In the Galaxy ecosystem, Samsung signed letters of intent with partners such as Theta Labs, planning to allow Galaxy NFT holders to obtain offline benefits such as discounts and points through authentication. The focus here is the connection between digital collectibles and consumer benefits.
By 2025, Samsung's cooperation with Coinbase further involved a payment entry point for crypto trading. In July, the two sides announced the integration of Samsung Pay within the Coinbase app, making it easier for eligible users to buy crypto assets or top up their accounts; in October, Samsung also provided Coinbase One membership benefits to eligible Samsung Wallet users.
Compared with previous collaborations, the USDC feature announced in October 2026 proposes a new product direction: providing stablecoin transfers and cross-border remittance experiences directly within Samsung Wallet.
From this perspective, the scenarios Samsung is exploring are extending to more specific fund transfer needs. However, these are attempts by different products at different stages.
Taking a stake in Upbit's parent company: Samsung goes deeper into digital asset infrastructure
Beyond consumer-facing wallets, Samsung-affiliated companies have also entered the field of digital asset infrastructure through equity investments.
According to an official statement from Samsung SDS, in May 2026, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Card decided to jointly acquire a 4% stake in Dunamu for a total of 612.8 billion won (currently worth $457 million). Among them, Samsung Securities accounts for 2%, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card each account for 1%. Dunamu is the operator of the South Korean crypto exchange Upbit.
In its subsequent second-quarter earnings presentation, Samsung SDS described this investment as having acquired the stake in May, and proposed combining its own IT services, cloud computing, and security capabilities with Dunamu's blockchain technology to expand the digital asset infrastructure market.
The same page also disclosed that Samsung SDS has accumulated relevant technical capabilities through the Korea Securities Depository's tokenized securities platform project, as well as through full-process validation of stablecoins from issuance to settlement with South Korean financial institutions.
This shows that Samsung SDS's work has already involved technical links such as stablecoin issuance and settlement. However, process validation and publicly issuing and operating stablecoins are progress at different levels.
Another matter that needs to be clarified is the controversy this year over the list of participants surrounding Open USD (OUSD).
At the end of June, the stablecoin project Open Standard published the U.S. dollar stablecoin Open USD (OUSD) and a related list of companies, with the names of Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, Visa, Mastercard, and others appearing in related reports.
But according to a July 3 report by South Korean media outlet Chosun Biz, multiple South Korean companies included on the list said they had not held formal cooperation discussions with the OUSD issuer. Companies such as Dunamu said they had only previously received inquiries about interest in participating and had not formally confirmed joining.Upbit also told Cointelegraph that it did not participate in the issuance of Open USD, and only expressed willingness to potentially consider participating in the expansion of the OpenStandard ecosystem in the future.
Three months later, Samsung Electronics officially announced support for USDC in Samsung Wallet. Compared with the previously controversial corporate list associated with OUSD, this collaboration included official announcements from participants such as Samsung, Solana, and Sui, clarifying the launch plan and each party's responsibilities.
Summary
Over the past seven years, Samsung and its affiliated companies' exploration of digital assets has expanded from private key protection, asset management, and NFTs on mobile devices to trading platform partnerships and financial infrastructure. Now, with USDC entering Samsung Wallet, stablecoin transfers and cross-border remittances have become new business directions. However, online shopping and offline stablecoin payments are capabilities that may be added in the future.
Behind this, Samsung's greatest advantage may not be blockchain technology, but its massive device user base and existing digital wallet ecosystem. For Samsung, what is truly worth watching is whether stablecoins can evolve from a crypto feature into an everyday financial tool that ordinary users are willing to use.