Samsung plans stablecoin features for 800 million new Galaxy phones

Samsung said at its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event that Samsung Wallet will add native stablecoin support, embedding digital dollar tokens inside an app already used for cards, identification documents, transit passes and loyalty rewards. The company demonstrated a wallet interface showing USD Coin with send, receive and add-funds functions, but it has not confirmed Circle as a partner, given a launch date, or identified which stablecoins will be supported. The U.S. is the only confirmed market. The announcement clarifies that the widely cited 800 million figure refers to Samsung's internal target for devices running Galaxy AI by the end of 2026, not to Samsung Wallet users or to devices confirmed to receive the stablecoin feature. Samsung Wallet is available in 61 countries and has about 19 million users in South Korea alone. Analysts said even a smaller eligible base would still give Samsung a distribution footprint that no crypto-native Android wallet has matched. Samsung is pairing the wallet rollout with a broader crypto infrastructure strategy. In May, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card agreed to acquire a combined 4% stake in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, for $408 million. During Samsung SDS's second-quarter earnings call, CEO Lee Jun-hee described the investment as a strategic move into digital asset infrastructure, including stablecoins and AI-powered payments. Analysts said the combination of wallet distribution, infrastructure investment and South Korea's pending Digital Asset Basic Act suggests Samsung is building across multiple layers of the crypto stack rather than adding a single wallet feature.