Samsung SDS unveils stablecoin infrastructure plans with Dunamu

Samsung SDS has identified stablecoin infrastructure as the first major collaboration area under its investment in Dunamu, outlining plans to combine blockchain, AI and cloud technologies as part of its digital asset strategy.

According to Samsung SDS during its second-quarter earnings conference call on Wednesday, the company has been discussing stablecoin infrastructure, AI-powered next-generation payments and virtual asset financial system integration with Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.

Samsung SDS has outlined how its Dunamu investment will be used

Samsung SDS President Lee Joon-hee said the company’s stake in Dunamu was made to enter the digital asset infrastructure business rather than as a financial investment. He said Samsung SDS intends to combine Dunamu’s blockchain operating experience with its own IT services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity capabilities to strengthen digital financial infrastructure.

Lee added that the companies are considering business opportunities spanning stablecoin infrastructure, AI-based payment systems and system integration services built around virtual assets. According to Samsung SDS, discussions are continuing as both sides work toward developing concrete business models.

The comments provide the clearest description yet of Samsung SDS’s plans after it invested in Dunamu earlier this year.

In May, Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card agreed to acquire a combined 4% stake in Dunamu for 612.8 billion won, or about $408 million, by purchasing 1.39 million shares from Kakao-linked entities. Samsung SDS acquired a 1% stake, while Samsung Securities purchased 2% and Samsung Card acquired the remaining 1%.

At the time, Samsung SDS said it planned to combine its AI, cloud, security and data management services with Dunamu’s blockchain expertise, while Dunamu said it expected cooperation on blockchain investment products, payment infrastructure and AI-related blockchain applications.

Stablecoin plans extend Samsung’s digital asset push

The latest comments come less than a week after Samsung Electronics disclosed plans to bring stablecoin support to Samsung Wallet.

During the Galaxy Unpacked event on July 24, Samsung Electronics said the wallet application will support stablecoins alongside payments, rewards and digital assets, although it did not disclose launch dates, supported tokens, blockchain networks or regional availability.

Product manager Lee Dinham said at the event that Samsung Wallet would expand beyond conventional payment functions to include stablecoins, allowing users to transfer digital value directly from compatible Galaxy devices.

Together, the wallet announcement and Samsung SDS’s latest remarks indicate that Samsung’s digital asset initiatives now extend from consumer payment products to the infrastructure supporting blockchain-based financial services.

The direction also differs from Samsung’s response to Open Standard’s proposed OUSD stablecoin consortium earlier this month. According to South Korean newspaper Chosun, Samsung said it had not held formal consultations with Open Standard and did not know what role it was expected to play after being listed as a founding consortium member. Dunamu, Shinhan Bank and K-Bank also told the newspaper they were still reviewing the proposal and had not approved participation.

Cloud growth has supported Samsung SDS results

Samsung SDS disclosed alongside the conference call that second-quarter revenue increased 5.9% year over year to 3.7178 trillion won, while operating profit rose 0.7% to 231.8 billion won. Net profit climbed 4.6% to 184.1 billion won.

IT services revenue reached 1.7625 trillion won, up 5% from a year earlier.

Cloud operations remained the fastest-growing segment. Revenue from the cloud business increased 17% to 779.4 billion won, while external cloud business revenue jumped 75% year over year.

According to Samsung SDS, cloud service provider revenue grew 24% as demand for Samsung Cloud Platform increased and GPU-as-a-Service deployments expanded across public-sector and enterprise customers. Cloud management services revenue also rose 17%, supported by AI transformation projects in the financial sector and enterprise resource planning deployments within South Korea’s shipbuilding industry.

AI infrastructure expansion will also support blockchain services

Alongside its blockchain plans, Samsung SDS said it continues expanding AI infrastructure and enterprise AI offerings.

The company said it was recently selected as a core operator under South Korea’s government-backed GPU infrastructure program and launched an NPU-as-a-Service product based on FuriosaAI’s Renegade neural processing chip. It has also secured AI-related projects with Woori Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea while maintaining partnerships with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Cloud for generative AI services.

Samsung SDS currently operates about 110 megawatts of AI infrastructure and plans to expand capacity to 230 megawatts by 2029. According to the company, that figure is expected to exceed 800 megawatts by 2031 when design, construction and operational projects are included.

The infrastructure buildout accompanies Samsung SDS’s strategy of pairing its cloud and AI capabilities with Dunamu’s blockchain platform as the companies continue discussions around stablecoin infrastructure, digital asset payment systems and virtual asset financial technology services.