A “wallet” is basically the equivalent of a bank account. It allows you to receive bitcoins and other coins, store them, and then send them to others.

You can think of a wallet as your personal interface to the Bitcoin network, similar to how your online bank account is an interface to the regular monetary system.

Wallets contain private keys; secret codes that allow you to spend your coins.

In reality, it’s not coins that need to be stored and secured, but the private keys that give you access to them.

In short: A crypto or Bitcoin wallet is simply an app, website, or device that manages private keys for you.

Tech giants lead crypto adoption in South Korea

Samsung is not the only South Korean company embracing crypto — as LG, Hyundai and others spearhead wider crypto adoption in the country.

Samsung’s recent ventures into cryptocurrency have sent ripples across the market, as speculators bet that South Korea’s biggest smartphone exporter could soon be delivering the next wave of crypto adoption.

But while the world watches Samsung, other developments are taking place in South Korea that could be equally significant. Despite the ban on token sales, and the “blockchain, not bitcoin” attitude championed by authorities, development continues to push ahead — led by tech giants that have both the capital to see projects through to completion, and the infrastructure to bring them to a wider audience.

Hitting headlines with a crypto wallet on the flagship S10, and plans to develop an Ethereum-based blockchain, Samsung is connected to various different aspects of the blockchain business — and has investments in both cryptocurrency projects like Crypto Kitties and Ledger, and private enterprise blockchain platforms like its own Nexledger.

In terms of adoption, some of these efforts are already coming to fruition — Samsung’s partnership with Cosmee, announced at MWC Barcelona 2019, already has a working product.

Rival smartphone manufacturer LG is also working on its own blockchain initiative — Mona Chain, which is currently undergoing a trial run at the LG Science Park in eastern Seoul.

Crypto tokens can already be used here for or the purchase of goods and services, and the team has forged partnerships with several top South Korean banks to develop direct integrations that will eventually allow for final settlements of payments by cash and credit card.

But, in line with the government’s concern over gambling and unregulated investment, Monachain, which is also being used in the public sector by KOMSCO, the South Korean mint, is sold as an enterprise platform that promises to enable blockchain-based logistics rather than a decentralized cryptocurrency.

Elsewhere, Korean car manufacturer Hyundai has also invested in blockchain, announcing a partnership with infrastructure provider Blocko that will enable them to record vehicle history, such as the data of the previous owner, the age of the vehicle, and the mileage, in such a way that tampering is impossible — a scheme reminiscent of Jaguar Land Rover’s recent plans to introduce incentivised data sharing with IOTA, only without the monetary element.

If you are travelling to South Korea this autumn and want to use your cryptocurrencies a good way to use them would be to book your stay and flights to South Korea with XcelTrip and top up your local mobile phone plan on XcelPay Wallet.

XcelPay Wallet is a merchant POS, digital payment wallet and crypto payment gateway. XcelPay Wallet is integrated into an easy to use, crypto wallet that is empowered for both mobile and tablet use, makes sure that transferring and receiving payments in crypto is a secure process. XcelPay Wallet aims to cut out undesirable middlemen, bank/card transaction fees, currency conversion fees that produce a negative effect on the retailer’s and consumer’s margins.

The Wallet allows you to top-up mobile phone plans with 900 different carrier services and in 160 countries, with Ethereum and Bitcoin.