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Samsung Wallet Adds USDC Accounts for 82 Million U.S. Galaxy Devices
Coinbase holds the coins, Bastion runs the accounts, and New York residents can't sign up. Balances aren't FDIC or SIPC insured, Samsung says.
Samsung switched on stablecoin accounts in Samsung Wallet on Thursday, letting eligible U.S. Galaxy users buy, hold and send Circle's USDC, a feature that works on about 82 million compatible devices.
The launch came about a week after the window Samsung set in its Oct. 7 announcement, which promised the last week of October. The Block and Decrypt both reported it live Thursday, running on the Solana blockchain.
How it works
USDC is a stablecoin: a token meant to stay worth $1, backed by reserves that issuer Circle manages. In Samsung's version, dollars a user adds from a bank account or card are converted into USDC, and withdrawals turn them back into dollars, Samsung's support FAQ says. Users can send USDC to other Samsung Wallet users, to outside crypto wallets, or to bank accounts in more than 60 countries, where recipients get local currency.
No separate crypto app is needed. Every account access and transfer needs a fingerprint.
Who handles the money
Samsung runs the app. Bastion, a licensed money transmitter, runs the custodial wallet and transfers, and the USDC sits in Coinbase's institutional custody. Stripe and its partners, including Bridge, process purchases, and Coinflow handles withdrawals, the FAQ says. There's no fee to open an account. Other fees vary by method and country.
Users can opt into rewards on their balance, capped at 1,500 USDC a year. The FAQ is blunt on risk: balances aren't covered by FDIC, NCUA or SIPC, and transfers can't be reversed. New York residents are excluded.
"We're bringing USDC transfers into Samsung Wallet so eligible Galaxy users can get started without installing another app or managing private keys themselves," Woncheol Chai, who heads Samsung's digital wallet team, said in October.
In our opinion: running a week behind schedule is forgivable when the product is this simple to reach. The figure to chase is sign-ups, and Samsung hasn't released any yet. Eighty-two million phones can see the button. Its October release also floated in-store stablecoin payments; that's the next step worth watching.
Sources: Samsung, Samsung Wallet Stablecoin Account FAQs · Samsung Mobile Press, Oct. 7 announcement · The Block · Decrypt
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