SOFI REVISITS CRYPTO AS TRADING RETURNS, BLOCKCHAIN INTEGRATION AMBITION GROWS
SAN FRANCISCO — Financial services provider SoFi (SOFI) announced plans Tuesday to resume trading and holding of Bitcoin and Ethereum for its users, reviving a service previously suspended in 2023.
Pivotal points include:
- ✦ Crypto trading services expected to launch later this year.
- ✦ The firm previously held a New York BitLicense (acquired in 2019) but halted crypto offerings in 2023 “after careful consideration.”
- ✦ Simultaneously outlined broader plans for stablecoin support, crypto staking, and crypto-backed lending.
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto underscored the strategic significance in a joint announcement.
” The future of financial services is being completely reinvented through innovations in crypto, digital assets, and blockchain more broadly,” Noto stated, adding the company intends to integrate blockchain features across all financial offerings, positioning itself “as the only digital one-stop shop for their financial needs.”
Implementation hinges on recent regulatory shifts. The Federal Reserve-backed Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance in May permitting national banks to custody crypto assets—an essential function enabling this expansion.
Noto previously foreshadowed this pivot during a January earnings call, indicating SoFi would act “aggressively” once follow-on regulations were clear—a development stemming from changes in administration policy.
Market reaction was immediate. SoFi Technologies (SOFI) stock climbed 0.7%—totaling approximately a 13% gain for the year—following the Tuesday revelation.
A SoFi spokesperson confirmed the announcement but declined further elaboration beyond publicly released information.
