Samsung Wallet Brings USDC to 82 Million Smartphones

Starting the last week of October, eligible American users will be able to send USDC from Samsung Wallet. The manufacturer targets 82 million compatible Galaxy devices, with no fees to external wallets, with regulated partners in charge of the funds. Stablecoins reach a mass distribution milestone.

From demonstration to launch

Samsung had already presented this feature in July during Galaxy Unpacked. The manufacturer had then shown a USDC transfer in Samsung Wallet, but without revealing a precise timeline or the partners involved. Three months later, the project thus enters its concrete phase.

Initially, Samsung mostly targets international transfers. From the app, a user will be able to send USDC to a crypto wallet abroad, with no fees from Samsung. They will also be able to send funds to a person without a wallet and credit their bank account in more than 60 countries, in local currency.

Any fees applied by partners or banks will appear before confirmation. Likewise, the receipt time will depend on the state of the network.

“Sending money abroad should be as convenient as using the wallet already on your phone,” explains Woncheol Chai, Executive Vice President in charge of the Wallet team at Samsung.

Coinbase at the heart of custody

To manage the funds, Samsung relies on specialized entities. Bastion will provide custody of USDC and Coinbase will act as sub-custodian. The funds will notably pass through Coinbase Prime Vault.

Samsung specifies it will not hold users’ funds. The company thus leaves account management, custody, and financial flows to its partners. Additionally, each transfer will require biometric authentication on a registered device.

This collaboration extends the connection between Samsung and Coinbase. In 2025, Samsung Pay had already integrated with the Coinbase app. Now, the two groups want to go further with stablecoin payments, both online and in stores.

Solana and Sui complete the setup

However, Samsung does not bet on a single blockchain. The Solana Foundation announced that Samsung Wallet and Samsung Pay will support stablecoins circulating on its blockchain, with conversion solutions between local currencies and USDC.

On its side, the Sui Foundation confirmed that Samsung Wallet had chosen it as infrastructure partner for USDC.

Competition is also progressing. Cash App, Block’s application, opened USDC to about 60 million users in May. Binance, for its part, gave Circle’s stablecoin a new weapon in payments.

Finally, Samsung plans to expand the service to other markets, depending on local regulations. At launch, access will, however, remain limited to adult American residents with a Samsung account, a Galaxy device running Android 13 minimum, and a verified identity.

The real test will therefore begin at the end of October: Samsung will now have to turn its 82 million compatible devices into active users of USDC.