Samsung could be set to integrate crypto wallet functionality within its 10th anniversary Galaxy S10, according to reports emerging in South Korean media.
In a move that could introduce millions of consumers to crypto wallets and payments for the first time, the news comes following leaks from industry insiders suggesting Samsung Pay would be loading crypto wallets onto devices as standard for the first time.
Samsung Pay already has 10 million users in Korea, relying on the app for a number of day-to-day payments. With the integration of crypto wallets, some now believe the move could help introduce a mass wave of new consumers to the cryptocurrency ecosystem for the first time.
Quoted in The Korea Herald, an industry official said the move could help encourage a mainstream embrace of cryptocurrency for daily payments.
“The arrival of the new Samsung phones could start popularization of the cryptocurrency wallet system in Korea,” according to the news outlet.
In a report previously published by Samsung, the group said mobiles offer a more secure basis for crypto wallet storage compared to desktop, because of the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE).
Joel Snyder, of Samsung Insights, said the threats from malware were correspondingly lower on mobile devices.
He wrote, “If a wallet stores the private keys on a normal persistent store (such as a hard disk or SSD), whether on a standard Windows PC or in a smartphone, a bit of malware can easily get access to them. If those private keys are in the TEE and only accessible via a trustlet, there’s no possible way the malware can extract the keys directly.”
However, Snyder urged that this was no substitute for due diligence, and consumers should still pick a “dependable” cryptocurrency wallet to avoid the risks of being hacked.
He stated, “Cryptocurrency users may not pay much attention to the mechanics of how their coins are stored, but that can be a dangerous attitude to have. Picking a dependable cryptocurrency wallet is an important part of using cryptocurrencies safely.”
For the time being, the reports remain rumors, with no confirmation from Samsung of plans to include crypto wallet functionality on the model.
With excitement for the feature already running high, particularly amongst the crypto community, it could be the big consumer launch that puts crypto into the daily mainstream of consumer payments.
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