Samsung’s 82 Million Phone Deal Could Boost These 3 Crypto Plays
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| By Mark Gough |
One thing I look for when evaluating a crypto project is its network effect.
In simple terms, that’s a network’s ability to attract new users, retain existing ones and continue to grow. As that user base expands, the network becomes more attractive to developers and businesses, which brings additional services and potentially even more users.
That’s what makes Samsung (SSNLF) recent announcement so interesting.
It’s one of the world’s largest tech companies, dominating 19% of the global smartphone market.
And earlier this month, it announced plans to bring stablecoin transfers to 82 million eligible Galaxy devices in the U.S.
That news made me sit up. Because Samsung will need to rely on existing Layer-1 networks to fulfil that promise.
Why Samsung’s Network Effect Matters
Rather than asking users to download a separate crypto wallet, Samsung is integrating stablecoin transfers into its existing Wallet application.
Customers will be able to send USDC internationally, including transfers to supported bank accounts in more than 60 countries.
For the average user, it could feel much like using a typical payment app.
For crypto investors, it means more network activity.
Solana (SOL) specifically is one of the blockchain networks supporting the rollout. The service — scheduled to launch during the final week of October — will give the network exposure to Samsung’s enormous customer base.
Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, summed it up well: “For a decade, stablecoins have proved the technology works. What they lacked was a way to reach the mainstream.”
That’s what makes the announcement interesting. Samsung is bringing blockchain functionality into a product people already use.
Of course, 82 million eligible devices doesn’t mean 82 million active Solana users. We’ll have to see how much transaction activity actually reaches Solana.
But the stablecoin activity we’ve seen so far suggests this move could be a significant tailwind.
$5.25 Trillion in Stablecoin Transactions
The Samsung announcement builds on substantial growth already underway on Solana.
According to the Solana Foundation, the network processed more than $5.25 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume in 2026, while stablecoin supply rose nearly 20% year over year.
Major financial companies — including PayPal and Western Union — are already using or developing Solana-based stablecoin services.
In September, the network’s stablecoin supply reached $17.51 billion, alongside $78.33 billion in decentralized exchange trading volume.
These figures show the scale of activity already underway.
Transaction volume isn’t revenue, of course. The same capital can move multiple times, so we shouldn’t confuse $5.25 trillion in transfers with money the network earns.
Still, stablecoins are increasingly used for payments and financial settlement, not just moving funds between crypto exchanges.
2 More Potential Winners
Solana isn’t the only network Samsung tapped for its stablecoin rollout. Sui (SUI) is also being used to facilitate the stablecoin swaps on Galaxy devices.
Born from the innovative team behind Meta's cancelled Diem project, Sui is a groundbreaking Layer-1 blockchain platform designed by Sam Blackshear.
Its goal is to revolutionize the crypto world with unmatched transaction speeds, low fees and a pioneering asset ownership model.
So far, Sui’s off-chain demos back that up. It recently tested a peak of 40,682,328 transactions per second (TPS). However, real network use is lower than the test environment. Chainspect’s live dashboard put it in eighth place at 104 TPS.
That gap is the investment thesis.
SUI is smaller, more speculative and will swing more wildly than SOL. While that means more potential downside, it also means a faster ride higher.
The other way to play Samsung’s announcement is Coinbase (COIN). Coinbase will be an official sub-custodian in this venture. That is, it’ll keep all the USDC in Samsung Wallet safe via the Coinbase Prime Vault.
In fact, this stablecoin functionality is just the next step in Samsung and Coinbase’s ongoing collaboration. Earlier this year, Samsung Pay was added as a payment option in the Coinbase app and access to Coinbase One benefits were given to eligible users through Samsung Wallet.
Bottom Line
Samsung is bringing stablecoin payments to millions of smartphones via Solana. Just as Solana’s role in traditional finance continues to grow.
Which means SOL is a great way to get direct exposure to these two powerful crypto trends.
And SUI stands as a more speculative way to invest in the same trends and catalyst.
Finally, COIN offers a way to gain exposure through your broker account. Without the same volatility found on the blockchain.
That said, the broad crypto market is in a minor correction right now. So, you’ll want to plan your entry accordingly.
For insight on when the market trend is expected to shift, and to learn how you can get specific “buy” alerts for crypto’s blue-chip tokens — like SOL — click here.
Best,
Mark Gough
