US bank SoFi Technologies has launched crypto trading services for its customers, as clearer regulations have allowed the crypto market to attract more interest than traditional finance.
Sophie Said On Tuesday its crypto service will aim to offer dozens of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), and on Monday it began a phased rollout, with more customers gaining access in the coming weeks.
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto told CNBC’s Squawk Box said on Tuesday that its bank is the first and only nationally chartered bank to launch crypto trading for consumers and was prompted to do so after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto in March.
“One of the shortcomings we had over the last two years was in cryptocurrencies, the ability to buy, sell and hold crypto. As a bank we were not allowed to do that. It was not allowed,” he said.
SoFi withdrew from the crypto industry in 2023 as a condition of obtaining a bank charter in the strict regulatory environment. The bank returned to crypto in June, when it launched international payment options, allowing conversion from fiat to crypto and transmission via blockchain.
Blockchain and Crypto a “Supercycle Technology”
SoFi also plans to introduce SoFi USD, a stablecoin backed dollar-for-dollar by reserves, and integrate the crypto into its lending and infrastructure services for borrowing and faster payments.
“We believe that blockchain and cryptocurrency are a supercycle technology, just like AI, and that it will become pervasive across all financial systems,” Noto said.
He said that stablecoins will fundamentally replace payments, provided they have liquidity and do not carry credit risk or tenure risk.
“I’m actually quite concerned about stablecoins from operators that aren’t banks. Where are the reserves sitting? Is there tenure risk to those reserves? Is there credit risk to those reserves? Are those reserves bankruptcy away?” He said.
“These are three elements you have to think about when using any stablecoin. Just because it’s backed dollar for dollar doesn’t mean those dollars will still be there when you try to liquidate.”
Members support crypto shift
SoFi has over $41 billion in assets, According Financial metrics platform for business quant. Bank’s third quarter results List It has net revenues of $962 million and represents a member base of 12.6 million people.
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Noto said that 60% of bank members surveyed were interested in crypto investments and also revealed that they have allocated 3% of their portfolios to crypto, primarily Bitcoin.
“We have exposure to that because I believe we’re investing in a technology, not a currency. The analogy I use with people is imagine if in 1990 you could buy a piece of the World Wide Web through some coin called the World Wide Web Coin.”
“It’s very similar to that. These are networks, communications networks that are used for payments and other applications,” Noto said.
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