Key Takeaways:
SoFi Technologies became the first US national bank to issue a stablecoin on a public, permissionless blockchain, sending its stock up 12% to about $19 as investors bet on a new revenue stream bridging traditional banking with on-chain settlement.
"Blockchain is a technology super cycle that will fundamentally change finance, not just in payments, but across every area of money," Anthony Noto, chief executive officer of SoFi Technologies, said in a statement. "With SoFiUSD, we're using the infrastructure we've built over the last decade and applying it to real-world challenges in financial services."
SoFiUSD, issued by SoFi Bank NA, is a fully reserved dollar-pegged token redeemable one-to-one for US dollars. The company said it will maintain liquid assets backing all outstanding tokens, with independent auditors conducting regular attestations. The stablecoin runs on both Ethereum and Solana blockchains, enabling near-instant settlement at fractional-cent pricing around the clock, according to the company.
The launch positions SoFi as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms, allowing partners to move funds with bank-grade oversight on permissionless rails. SoFi plans to integrate SoFiUSD into its SoFi Pay product for international remittance and point-of-sale purchases, and offer it as a dollar-denominated asset for consumer debit or secured credit accounts in countries with volatile currencies. The company also outlined plans to let members convert SoFiUSD into tokenized deposits eligible for FDIC insurance and list the token on the institutional exchange Bullish.
The stablecoin playbook
The San Francisco-based fintech reported first-quarter revenue of $1.1 billion and record loan originations of $12.2 billion, up 68% from a year earlier. SoFi's Galileo platform processes payments across nearly 160 million global accounts, and the company said it is developing settlement capabilities with Mastercard for global payments interoperability.
SoFiUSD is now available for internal settlement activity, with broader availability to SoFi members expected in the coming months. The company cautioned that SoFiUSD is not itself FDIC-insured and carries the risk of loss like all digital assets.
The stock had fallen 35% year to date heading into Friday's session, making the 12% surge a sharp reversal. The rally extended to other fintech names: Robinhood Markets rose 1% to about $86, and Upstart Holdings gained 3% to roughly $34, as investors rotated back into beaten-down digital finance stocks.
The move comes as Congress pushes toward establishing a formal regulatory framework for cryptocurrency. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law last summer, establishing rules for issuing and trading stablecoins. The Clarity Act, which would set federal rules governing the broader crypto market, is also advancing through Congress. SoFi's entry as a federally chartered bank issuing its own stablecoin could pressure other financial institutions to follow suit, potentially reshaping how banks approach on-chain settlement and digital asset products.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
