Samsung Wallet to Add Native Stablecoin Support, USDC Seen in Mockup

Samsung Wallet to natively support stablecoins — USDC appears in mockup At its Galaxy Unpacked event in London on July 22, Samsung announced that Samsung Wallet—the app that already stores payment cards, IDs and hotel keys—will add native support for stablecoins. The company showed a mockup containing Circle’s USDC (the second-largest stablecoin by market value), but did not confirm any partners, a launch date, or which blockchain(s) the tokens would run on. “Samsung Wallet will expand beyond cash and savings. It will embrace New forms of digital value, including stablecoins,” said Lee Dinham, Samsung’s product manager, on stage, adding the move would make Samsung “one of the first major mobile brands to bring native stablecoins to a Smartphone, enabling fast and trusted digital value transfers.” Why it matters - Native stablecoin support on a major smartphone brand would be a notable step toward mainstream crypto payments and everyday use of tokenized dollars. Stablecoins are designed to hold a steady value—usually $1—by being backed one-to-one with cash or short-term government debt. - Samsung’s mockup included USDC, but the company stopped short of naming Circle as a partner or specifying whether the feature will be custodial (Samsung or a third party holds the funds) or non-custodial (users control private keys). Samsung’s crypto pedigree This isn’t new territory for Samsung. The company introduced a Knox-secured crypto vault on Galaxy phones in 2019—hardware-isolated storage unlocked only by PIN or fingerprint—and has since added support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron and Stellar. In 2021 Samsung enabled direct linking of hardware wallets (such as Ledger Nano S) to that vault. Last October it expanded a deal with Coinbase to integrate crypto purchases directly inside Samsung Wallet for 75 million U.S. Galaxy owners. “Samsung Wallet is a trusted tool to millions of Galaxy users,” said Drew Blackard, Samsung’s SVP of mobile product management, about the Coinbase integration. Payments tie-in: Galaxy Card The stablecoin announcement came alongside Samsung’s first U.S. credit card, the Galaxy Card, issued by Barclays on the Visa network. The card offers 5% back on Samsung purchases and 3% on Samsung Wallet transactions. Visa’s Kirk Stuart framed the card as part of a broader trend: payments “embedded into the digital experiences [consumers] use every day.” Samsung described the overall push as delivering a “secured payments and rewards experience.” Open questions Samsung’s roadmap raises several immediate questions: when the feature will launch, which stablecoins and blockchains will be supported, how custody will be handled, and how regulatory concerns will be addressed across markets. Samsung’s existing hardware security and prior crypto integrations give it a technical foundation—but details on partnerships, custody, and compliance will determine how this plays out in practice. Bottom line: Samsung is positioning Wallet as more than a container for cards and keys—aiming to make tokenized fiat a native payment option on Galaxy phones. The company has the hardware security and user base to make an impact, but concrete partner and product details are still pending.