Stablecoins Go Mainstream as Samsung Wallet Adds USDC on Solana

In brief

• Samsung Wallet launched stablecoin accounts for eligible U.S. Galaxy users, supporting USDC on Solana across about 82 million compatible devices.
• The service is built with custodian Bastion and Coinbase, and allows transfers without Samsung fees, plus bank payouts in more than 60 countries.
• Credit card top-ups carry a 4% fee, the service isn’t available in New York, and Samsung plans to explore stablecoin payments and other markets.

Samsung is putting digital dollars in the same app where its users keep their credit cards and boarding passes.

Stablecoin accounts went live in Samsung Wallet on Thursday for eligible U.S. Galaxy users, letting them buy, hold, send, and receive Circle’s USDC on the Solana blockchain without downloading a separate crypto app or managing private keys. The feature reaches about 82 million compatible Galaxy devices in the U.S., according to the announcement.

“For a decade, stablecoins have proved the technology works,” said Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation. “What they lacked was a way to reach the mainstream.”

Samsung first announced the feature on Oct. 7, when the electronics giant tapped Solana for USDC transfers. Samsung Wallet first teased plans to support the stablecoin, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, over the summer.