A fintech company that started by refinancing student loans just became the first US national bank to put a stablecoin directly into a consumer banking app. SoFi Technologies launched SoFiUSD on May 27, giving its approximately 14.7 million members the ability to buy, sell, and hold the token without ever leaving the SoFi app.
The stablecoin is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., which is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. That makes SoFiUSD a fundamentally different animal from Tether or even Circle’s USDC: it’s a dollar-pegged token issued by a chartered national bank, not a standalone crypto company.
What SoFiUSD actually is
SoFiUSD lives on the Ethereum blockchain and is redeemable on a 1:1 basis for US dollars through SoFi Bank. The reserves backing the token consist of liquid assets, and the company has committed to regular independent attestations to verify that backing.
The token launched on Ethereum, though it also operates on Solana. Within days of going live, SoFiUSD’s market capitalization on Ethereum surpassed $100 million.
