TLDR
- SoFi is the first US bank with a national charter to offer direct crypto trading to retail customers.
- Users can buy, sell, and hold BTC, ETH, and SOL from their FDIC-insured bank accounts.
- The firm plans to expand into crypto-enabled remittances and develop its own dollar stablecoin.
With the launch of SoFi Crypto, the largest online lender in the United States, SoFi Technologies, officially enters the crypto space. This is a significant achievement, as SoFi becomes the first nationally chartered bank in the country to provide SoFi cryptocurrency trading directly to its retail customers.
With this innovation, SoFi users will be able to buy, sell, and hold dozens of digital assets, including Solana (SOL), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH), directly from their checking or savings accounts, which are FDIC-insured.
This integration eliminates the need to transfer funds to an external exchange, allowing customers to manage their crypto assets alongside their traditional banking products, investments, and loans, all centralized in a single application.
SoFi highlighted that, although the crypto assets themselves are not FDIC-insured (the federal insurance only covers dollar deposits), the firm emphasizes that its “bank-level” compliance and security infrastructure offers users a safer and more regulated alternative to traditional exchanges. The service rollout begins this week and will gradually expand to all SoFi members.
Traditional Banking Merges with Blockchain
Anthony Noto, the company’s CEO, stated that “SoFi Crypto brings banking and blockchain together in one trusted platform,” calling the launch a “pivotal moment” in digital finance. He added that blockchain “will reshape the entire financial system” by making transactions faster, cheaper, and more transparent.
This launch marks the first in-house crypto product developed by SoFi since it obtained its national bank charter, and it follows the discontinuation of its previous partnership with Coinbase in 2023.
The decision to implement SoFi cryptocurrency trading responds to clear consumer demand. According to the firm itself, 60% of its members who already own crypto assets indicated they prefer to trade through a licensed bank rather than a standalone exchange.
The company revealed broader future plans to integrate blockchain technology. These include the development of crypto-enabled remittances, the creation of its own stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, and blockchain-based lending tools designed to reduce borrowing costs and speed up transactions.
“Crypto remains a strategic focus,” Noto concluded, confirming the creation of a specialized engineering team for this area. With this move, SoFi positions itself at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets, setting an important precedent for mainstream adoption in the US.
