Coinbase & Samsung make USDC Samsung Wallet default
Wed, 7th Oct 2026 (Today)
Coinbase and Samsung are expanding their partnership to bring USDC to Samsung Wallet in the United States, making it the wallet's default dollar stablecoin.
The rollout is scheduled to begin in the last week of October 2026 for Samsung Wallet users in the US.
Under the agreement, USDC will appear automatically when users top up their stablecoin balance in Samsung Wallet. Coinbase will power the stablecoin experience, while Coinbase Prime will provide custody for USDC held in the wallet through its New York State Department of Financial Services-qualified custody services.
The deal extends an existing relationship between Samsung's payments and wallet products and Coinbase's crypto services. Coinbase added Samsung Pay as a payment option in its app last July, allowing users to buy crypto that way. In October, the partnership expanded to more than 82 million Galaxy users in the US through Coinbase One benefits offered in Samsung Wallet.
Stablecoin role
USDC is a dollar-linked stablecoin designed to be redeemable one-to-one for US dollars. According to Coinbase, it is backed by cash and short-dated US Treasuries, with monthly attestations published.
Coinbase said USDC circulation grew 72% in 2025 to more than USD $75 billion. The number of wallets holding USDC rose 59% to nearly 7 million, it added.
The custody structure for the Samsung Wallet arrangement also includes Bastion, which Coinbase described as a licensed stablecoin custodian and infrastructure provider overseen by US financial regulators.
The agreement reflects Coinbase's broader push to place stablecoins in mainstream consumer payment and wallet products rather than confining them to dedicated crypto platforms. For Samsung, it adds a dollar stablecoin option directly to a wallet already used for payments and digital services.
Coinbase called Samsung Wallet a leading all-in-one digital wallet and described the agreement as the next stage of the companies' collaboration. The arrangement gives Samsung Wallet users in the US a default stablecoin option, removing the need to choose among multiple digital dollar products when topping up balances.
Consumer distribution
The deal is also a distribution win for USDC, which competes in a crowded stablecoin market where scale, trust and access remain critical. Being the default dollar stablecoin in a consumer wallet tied to Samsung's device base could increase USDC's exposure among mainstream users who do not already use dedicated crypto services.
At the same time, the use of Coinbase Prime custody suggests the companies want the product built on an institutional structure rather than a lighter retail arrangement. That may matter as stablecoins draw closer scrutiny from policymakers and financial regulators in the US and abroad.
In the announcement, Coinbase said the move reflects the growing use of stablecoins in digital money transfers and online transactions.
"USDC is designed to be redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars and backed by cash and short-dated U.S. Treasuries, with monthly attestations published," Coinbase said.
It also pointed to Samsung's scale as a reason the partnership matters for USDC distribution.
"Samsung's global reach makes this a significant distribution milestone for USDC," Coinbase said.