Bastion operates the cross-border framework and Coinbase holds the balances as its sub-custodian, while Samsung states it is not a bank, money transmitter or custodian. The Solana Foundation says the transfers run on Solana at launch; Samsung's own release names Solana and Sui as examples and commits to neither.
Samsung Electronics America said on October 7 that Samsung Wallet will let eligible US users send USDC in the last week of October, and that Samsung itself will hold none of the money. Bastion, which the company describes as a licensed stablecoin custodian and infrastructure provider overseen by US financial regulators, operates the cross-border payment framework. Coinbase is Bastion's official sub-custodian, and Bastion safeguards every USDC balance held in Samsung Wallet through Coinbase Prime Vault.
Samsung put the division of labor in the release itself: it is not a bank, a money transmitter or a digital asset custodian, and it does not hold customer funds. Stablecoin accounts, custody and money movement are provided by regulated partners. What Samsung contributes is reach, through a wallet already installed on the phone. "Sending money abroad should feel as convenient as using the wallet already on your phone," said Woncheol Chai, executive vice president and head of the digital wallet team in Samsung's Mobile eXperience business.
Two transfer paths come with different economics. Eligible users can send USDC internationally to compatible third-party crypto wallets or exchange accounts with no Samsung fee, though receiving wallets or exchanges may charge their own and settlement speed depends on network conditions. They can also send money to qualifying bank accounts in more than 60 countries, delivered in the recipient's local currency with no wallet needed at the other end. That second path does carry fees, which vary by destination and amount and are shown in the app with an estimated delivery time before the sender confirms. The fee-free claim covers the crypto path only; the path that ends in a bank account is priced.
The eligibility list is longer than the headline figure suggests. A user has to be a US resident aged 18 or older with a Samsung Account and a compatible Galaxy device running Android 13 or higher, and has to complete registration, identity verification and biometric authentication before sending anything. Samsung's figure of about 82 million is a count of US Galaxy devices compatible with Samsung Wallet, not of people who will enroll. Transfers to sanctioned jurisdictions are prohibited, recipient bank eligibility varies by institution and account type, and the list of countries is shown inside the app rather than published. The release states no transfer limits, which is not the same as confirming there are none.
The two releases do not line up on which blockchain carries the transfers. The Solana Foundation said in its own release the same day that the transfers run on Solana from the last week of October, and The Block reported the launch as a Solana one. Samsung's release names Solana and Sui as examples of networks supported by separate partners and does not say which will be live at launch. The gap is in what each party committed to in writing, and only the Foundation has claimed the launch network.
"For a decade, stablecoins have proved the technology works," said Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, in that release. "What they lacked was a way to reach the mainstream." Coinbase's head of infrastructure products, Alec Lovett, called Samsung's reach "a significant distribution milestone for USDC" in a quote carried by The Block; Coinbase's own blog post on the arrangement could not be opened.
USDC is issued by Circle, which neither release names as a party to the agreement. It is not a new structure for a consumer app adding a dollar token it neither issues nor holds: Revolut's euro stablecoin is issued by Stripe-owned Bridge, and the licensing, custody and payout obligations sit with the partner rather than the brand on the screen. For Samsung the arrangement also builds on an existing relationship, after Samsung Pay was added as a payment option in the Coinbase app and Coinbase One benefits were made available through Samsung Wallet.
Two pieces of the pitch remain plans rather than products. Samsung says paying with stablecoins online, or by tapping a compatible Galaxy device in a store, is intended to follow, as is expansion to other markets subject to each country's regulatory developments. The company also says the launch follows the establishment of a regulatory framework for stablecoins without naming the statute or rule it means. No statement from Bastion, the party operating the framework, accompanied either release.
