Samsung’s plan to put stablecoin transfers into the wallet app already sitting on 82 million Galaxy phones did not come together overnight. According to Lu Yin, head of APAC at the Solana Foundation, the deal was years in the making.
“Samsung announced today (Oct. 7) that they will offer stablecoin payments as a service in the Samsung Wallet natively and then the settlement rails will be using Solana,” Yin said in an interview with TheStreet Roundtable at Token2049 in Singapore. “I think that Samsung’s use case is going to really impact other mass adopters in this space as well.”
The announcement came on Oct. 7. Samsung Wallet will support cross-border USDC transfers beginning the last week of October, letting eligible U.S. Galaxy users send dollars to compatible crypto wallets in seconds with no transfer fees, or to eligible bank accounts in more than 60 countries. Solana and Sui provide the network infrastructure, while Bastion, a licensed stablecoin custodian, powers the transfers with Coinbase Prime safeguarding the USDC as sub-custodian.
Why now
Asked why the product is launching now, Yin pointed first to Washington.
“The passing of the GENIUS Act has really facilitated and I think been a catalyst for corporations, financial institutions to kind of come into the space,” he said.
The GENIUS Act, signed July 18, 2025, created the first federal framework for payment stablecoins. Issuers must back every token with liquid assets such as U.S. dollars or short-term Treasuries and disclose their reserves publicly each month, according to the White House. Only issuers approved by a federal or certified state regulator can operate, they must follow anti-money-laundering rules, and they cannot pay interest directly to holders. For Samsung, that means a clear rulebook for a feature that moves real dollars. Yin said wallet, security and liquidity vendors are “all coming together at the right time.”
A staged rollout, starting with 82 million phones
Samsung’s footprint is the draw. Galaxy smartphones have about a billion users globally, Yin said, but the stablecoin feature starts in one market.
“It will start with the United States only, which has only 82 million (users),” Yin said.
Rather than chase immediate sign-ups, Yin said the focus is on a smooth first experience for people who have never touched crypto.
“I think what we’re really focused on is actually getting the adoption first,” he said. “We will start to open it up, I would say, in different stages. Obviously, our goal is to shoot the highest penetration as possible. But I think in cooperation with the Samsung team, I think we should be able to find meaningful traction.”
