Samsung, Stablecoin – Wall Street Takedown

*Source: 서울경제TV

삼성, 스테이블 뜻밖의 지분 인수 “美 월가 급소 찔렀다”

● Samsung’s Secret Stablecoin Strategy – Trillions in Global Supply Chain Finance at Stake

The Impact of Samsung’s Stablecoin Equity Acquisition — Key Contents Included in the Main Body: The background of Samsung’s investment in Rain and its potential linkage with Samsung Pay, the technical and business significance of USDC-based payment infrastructure, cost savings from inter-company transfers (estimated $48M-$100M annually), competitive landscape with Apple and Google, regulatory risks and policy variables, and ‘The Key Point Not Mentioned in the News’ (the possibility of Samsung leveraging its security elements for supply chain finance transformation, a regulatory avoidance strategy by not issuing its own stablecoin, etc.) — All these contents are systematically organized in chronological order.

1) What’s Happening Now (Facts, News Summary)

Samsung Next participated in the investment round of Rain, a US stablecoin payment infrastructure company.

This round raised approximately $58 million (about 80 billion KRW) in total.

Rain is a company that develops in-store payment and B2B settlement automation infrastructure using USDC (US dollar-pegged stablecoin).

Samsung’s goal is interpreted as a strategic investment considering the possibility of technical and service integration with Samsung Pay and Samsung Wallet.

Samsung has previous experience experimenting with payments with Coinbase, making this move a continuation of that effort.

2) Samsung’s Strengths (Why Samsung?) — Technology, User, and Market Aspects

Samsung Electronics (SEO Keywords: Samsung Electronics, Stablecoin, Payment, Global, Blockchain)

Smartphone Penetration: With approximately 200 million units sold annually, it already has a wide user channel.

Security Infrastructure: Hardware security modules (TrustZone/SE), Samsung Knox, and biometric authentication can provide ‘real money-level security’.

Payment Ecosystem: Existing payment networks like Samsung Pay and Wallet are crucial channels for removing wallet barriers.

Global Network: Rapid expansion is possible through multinational sales and service networks.

3) Technology and Service Implementation Method (How Will It Work?)

Wallet Integration Model: Users may be able to toggle and use USDC payments directly within Samsung Pay without installing a separate e-wallet.

Tokenization and Key Management: Samsung’s Secure Element will safely store private keys and token usage on the device, enabling ‘simple and secure payments’.

B2B Settlement: Rain’s automated settlement rules can facilitate real-time payments and automated clearing between corporations.

Online/Offline Linkage: Support for both in-store POS integration and online checkout unifies the user experience (UX).

4) Corporate Finance Perspective Benefits — Cost Savings Seen in ‘Numbers’

Samsung’s annual inter-company transfer volume between overseas subsidiaries is approximately $80 billion.

Estimated annual savings when stablecoin is adopted: A minimum of $48 million to a maximum of $100 million (approx. 60 billion to 140 billion KRW).

Cost Reduction Channels: Decreased foreign exchange fees, reduced intermediary bank fees, and improved working capital efficiency through real-time settlement.

If actual per-transaction fees drop to around $1, large corporations will immediately experience economies of scale.

5) Competitive Landscape and Strategic Choices

Direct Issuance vs. Infrastructure Provision

Samsung is likely to approach this through infrastructure and wallet integration rather than issuing its own stablecoin for now.

Reason: Issuance involves high regulatory risks due to increased demands for reserves, regulation, and transparency.

Competitors: Apple (considering USDC), Google (some payment experiments) — however, Samsung can gain an advantage as a ‘diffusion channel’ by combining its smartphone market share with payment experience.

6) Regulatory and Policy Risks (Domestic and International Differences)

South Korea: Issues regarding asset recognition for payments under current law, and the Bank of Korea’s stance requiring KRW stablecoins to be bank-centric.

Delayed domestic regulation could impede Samsung’s innovation speed.

Overseas: The US and Europe are establishing stablecoin regulatory frameworks, necessitating a ‘differentiated global strategy’ based on regulatory differences.

Relationship with CBDCs: The adoption rate of private stablecoins may vary depending on the speed of CBDC introduction in each country.

7) My ‘Key Point Not Often Mentioned in the News’ (Most Important Content)

Samsung’s strategy of remaining a ‘gateway and infrastructure provider’ rather than an ‘issuer’ is not regulatory avoidance but a regulatory benefit strategy.

Explanation: Direct issuance entails responsibilities for reserves, transparency, and risk. An infrastructure provider can mitigate regulatory demands while rapidly securing network effects.

Supply Chain Finance Tokenization Potential: Samsung is a company where trillions of KRW worth of transactions occur in manufacturing and supply chains.

By combining with stablecoins, tokenizing assets like bonds and accounts receivable (AR) can significantly reduce supply chain finance costs.

Data and Platform Power: Samsung can leverage its device + payment data flow to provide customized financial products (e.g., short-term credit for suppliers). This is more than just simple payments.

If economies of scale are achieved, Samsung Pay has the potential to transform into a ‘global payment gateway’. This is a critical variable that existing news reports do not sufficiently emphasize.

8) Timeline (Phased Expected Schedule)

Short-term (6 months) — Technical integration pilot with Rain and internal transfer trial operations.

Mid-term (1-2 years) — Expansion of commercial payment pilots within Samsung Pay (focused on certain countries and affiliated merchants).

Long-term (3-5 years) — Securing leadership in global wallet competition, full-scale implementation of supply chain finance and B2B settlement, and full expansion after adapting to regional regulations.

9) Implications from the Perspective of Investors, Corporations, and Policymakers

Investors: Samsung Electronics stock reacts to short-term news, but long-term value creation may come from its transformation into a payment and financial infrastructure.

Catalysts (Stock Price Drivers): Official announcement of Samsung Pay-stablecoin integration, expansion of global partnerships, signs of regulatory easing.

Risks (Stock Price Downside Factors): Rigidity of domestic regulations, tightening global regulations (stricter stablecoin rules), technical or security incidents.

Corporate (Large Enterprise) Perspective: Companies with extensive supply chains like Hyundai Motor should benchmark Samsung’s model to explore their own cost-saving measures.

Policy Recommendation: Regulatory authorities should acknowledge the benefits of corporate payment innovation (cost reduction, efficiency) while simultaneously establishing consumer protection and anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

10) Risks and Countermeasures (Practical Checklist)

Security Risk: Centralization of device and key management can become a target → Recommendation of multisig and hardware-based key splitting.

Liquidity and Peg Risk: Necessity of verifying the trustworthiness and reserves of the USDC issuer.

Legal Risk: Different remittance and payment regulations by country → Essential to have region-specific legal and compliance plans.

Operational Risk: Potential conflicts over merchant fees and policies → Need for clear fee models and incentive design.

11) Conclusion and My Judgment

In the short term, Samsung’s investment in Rain is an ‘experimental and strategic’ bet.

In the mid to long term, combined with Samsung Pay, it has significant potential to become a global payment infrastructure.

Key variables are ‘regulation’ and ‘global partnership expansion’.

A crucial point less covered by the news is the possibility of Samsung transforming supply chain finance by leveraging its security and device channels. If this scenario materializes, it could generate trillions of KRW in financial service revenue (and cost savings) beyond simple payment fees.

12) Action Proposals (By Corporation, Investor, Policymaker)

Corporations (Samsung and Partners): Quickly operate pilots with Rain to create internal transfer and supply chain payment use cases.

Investors: Adjust medium-to-long-term investment weighting based on a regulatory risk checklist. While there is short-term news momentum, core value depends on the pace of infrastructure adoption.

Policymakers: Establish a consultative body among banks, fintechs, and large corporations to provide smooth regulatory sandboxes and parallel consumer protection guidelines.

< Summary >Samsung’s investment in Rain is not just a crypto bet but a ‘stablecoin infrastructure strategy’ combining Samsung Pay, device security, and global sales networks.

There is potential for annual savings of at least $48 million to $100 million in inter-company transfers, and even greater profits could be generated through supply chain finance tokenization.

Key variables are global partnership expansion and regulatory flexibility.

My additional emphasis, not fully highlighted in the news, is the possibility of ‘supply chain finance transformation’ utilizing Samsung’s security and device channels, which could lead to structural changes beyond simple payment expansion.