Summary

  • Samsung plans to add native stablecoin features, including fiat-pegged savings and payments accounts, to 800 million new Galaxy smartphones via Samsung Wallet, potentially making it a dominant distributor of tokens like USDC.
  • The move builds on Samsung’s existing crypto wallet infrastructure and its nearly 19 million Samsung Wallet users in South Korea, positioning the company to integrate payments, rewards and digital assets into a single ecosystem across 61 countries.
  • Samsung’s $408 million stake in Upbit operator Dunamu and its push into digital asset infrastructure suggest a broader strategy to support both dollar- and won-denominated stablecoins as South Korea develops its Digital Asset Basic Act.

Samsung’s recent announcement that it is adding stablecoin support to 800 million new smartphones could position the tech giant to become a major stablecoin distributor, experts told CoinDesk.

This is not Samsung’s first venture into cryptocurrencies. Samsung, the largest company in South Korea, has been actively involved in the crypto industry for several years, having introduced its digital asset wallet in 2019 through Knox, a hardware-isolated vault with fingerprint or PIN access. The wallet allows users to store and manage crypto including bitcoin, ether and tron, and supports connecting external hardware wallets like Ledger’s Nano S and Nano X directly to a Galaxy device. Samsung is now arguing that it can make payments easier, using a type of cryptocurrency with a consistent value.

“Due to this strategic move, Samsung will emerge as a dominant distributor of stablecoins such as USDC,” said Joseph Goh, director and head of Asia Pacific at crypto investment banking and advisory firm Areta, in chat messages with CoinDesk. He said one of the most significant issues holding back greater adoption is reaching potential new users. “Distribution is the scarce asset here, and Samsung owns a great deal of it.”

Source: CoinDesk

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