A US-based technology publication by the name of BGR recently reported that a Samsung insider leaked images of the upcoming Galaxy S10 wallet which seems to be equipped with a built-in crypto wallet.

At this point, the Galaxy S10 has not yet officially been revealed to the public, but it has been reported that the Korean electronics giant has distributed it to merchants.

Could The S10 Be The First Samsung Flagship Phone With a Native Wallet?

The person responsible for leaking the images is known as Gregory Blake. Blake released some screenshots of what is suspected to be the next release in the Samsung Galaxy range. These screenshots reveal what seems to be an integrated phone feature known as “Samsung Blockchain KeyStore” whereby users will have full control over private keys and crypto assets.

Once users have authenticated and enabled the Blockchain KeyStore functionality on their devices, they’ll be able to begin transacting with cryptocurrency using the native crypto wallet which is built into the smartphone.

Notably, the screenshot also revealed that Ethereum is the only supported digital currency for the device, but this could be because the device shown is a prototype. One of the images also revealed Bitcoin icons alluding to the possibility that the phone would indeed support more currencies by the time of the official launch.

Chris Smith, a journalist at BGR verified that phone in the screenshots is the S10:

“We know it’s a Galaxy S10 phone because the punch-hole camera is placed near the top right corner. The A8s’ selfie cam is on the left side. Also, we know it’s a Galaxy S10 phone rather than a Galaxy S10+ model because it features a single-lens selfie camera. It’s clear the handset isn’t the Lite version, because the screen has curved edges, rather than flat.”

As reported by CoinBeat in December, we know that Samsung has been planning to include a crypto cold storage wallet into the S10 model following the filing of trademarks by the conglomerate for Samsung blockchain.

Why A Crypto Wallet Is A Good Move For Samsung:

Back in July 2018, Samsung Insights released a statement revealing that the most secure devices for running crypto wallets are mobile phones as they feature a protocol known as a Trusted Execution Environment. (TEE)

As opposed to desktops, laptops and other devices, smartphones are built with a native environment which operates independently of the storage and memory. This means that any data stored in a TEE cannot be altered by the OS, which completely eliminates the threat of security breaches which could affect any data stored in the trusted environment.

By using a TEE via a mobile phone, crypto wallets can operate in a far more efficient and secure fashion when compared to laptops and desktops, which as know are still popular devices for utilising wallets and exchanges.

Joel Snyder, Senior IT Consultant & Samsung Insights Contributor stated:

“This is why smartphones have an edge over laptops and desktops for cryptocurrency wallets: without the benefits of the hardware-based TEE, the keys are more vulnerable. “There is a significant caveat: a naïve wallet developer might choose to simply store the keys on the normal internal storage of the phone, in which case there’s little additional protection from using the smartphone platform. Or the wallet itself might be malware, in which case all bets are off. But with the right wallet leveraging the benefits of smartphone TEE, there’s no place safer to store your money.”

If these leaked screenshots are indeed accurate and the Samsung Galaxy S10 launches with a native cryptocurrency wallet, this could be stiff competition for the likes of HTC and other companies who are at work on their own blockchain smartphones.

Would you consider purchasing the S10 if it indeed features a native crypto wallet? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Follow CoinBeat on Facebook, Twitter & Telegram

Subscribe to our CoinBeat Newsletter

Submit an article to CoinBeat

View live Marketcap Prices here