Leaked Photos Suggest Samsung S10 to Feature Crypto Wallet

On January 23, 2019, a Twitter user supposedly leaked photos of the upcoming Samsung S10 phone, which features a hole-punch display and a cryptocurrency wallet.

Rumors Confirmed?

A new offering from Samsung is  often met with a frenzy from the tech world, with much of the hype surrounding the upcoming phone’s new features. For the latest installment, the Samsung S10, there are rumors that it will have a feature guaranteed to make any crypto enthusiast happy, a built-in cryptocurrency wallet.

This new information comes via some leaked images of the new phone that show it possessing, among other things, a hole-punch display and a cryptocurrency wallet. The pictures were apparently, first spotted by SamMobile and then posted to Twitter by user Ben Geskin. The cryptocurrency wallet is allegedly dubbed the ‘Samsung Blockchain KeyStore app’.

The discussion surrounding Samsung’s possible addition of a cryptocurrency wallet started back in November 2018 when it was revealed that Samsung had filed for trademarks in Europe namely, Blockchain KeyStore, Blockchain Key Box, and Blockchain Core. After this revelation, the speculation of a crypto wallet being added to the Samsung S10 began.

Galaxy s10 with crypto wallet? pic.twitter.com/6IICujXEnm

— CryptoPeacock (@GregiPfister89) January 22, 2019

Details About the Wallet

According to BGR, the new Samsung phone will be home to a cold wallet for saving cryptocurrency, a secondary wallet, public and private keys, and signing private keys for crypto transactions.

The cold wallet will reportedly allow the importation of wallets from other services and will be able to store  Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin cash. From the leaked photos, it would seem that its support for Ethereum has been confirmed. In terms of security, the cold wallet will only be accessible by entering a 12-to-24 word phrase. The Bitcoin app, on the other hand, will require a PIN or a fingerprint scan to gain access.

This isn’t the first time a phone company has offered support for cryptocurrency storage as the latest phones from HTC do the same. However, Samsung is a giant in its industry and its having an inbuilt crypto wallet will not only help expose crypto to its millions of users but will also help normalize its use.

The S10 is to be unveiled in February and the anticipation for it just got more intense, particularly in the crypto world. Should these features be well-received, it could prompt Apple to release its own official crypto wallet given that they and Samsung are in a bitter rivalry to capture the mobile phone market.