SoFi Becomes First National Bank to Offer Crypto Trading: Here’s What to Expect

SoFi began rolling out cryptocurrency trading to its customers last week as the fintech bank became the first nationally chartered bank to offer the arrangement The launch may provide a preview of what s to come in when several other banks are expected to follow with digital asset offerings of their own It will also test whether there s an untapped sector of likely crypto investors who have shied away from cryptocurrency exchanges but might be more assured trading through a bank In current times marks a pivotal moment when banking meets crypto in one app on a trusted platform and driven by our core mission to help our members get their money right Anthony Noto CEO of SoFi commented in a declaration The function called SoFi Crypto will be gradually rolled out to select SoFi customers with all of the bank s million customers expected to get access to it by the end of the year A SoFi spokesperson says the phased rollout is intended to ensure a smooth experience for our members from Day One Interest in the new product has been high in the week since launch We re seeing strong enthusiasm from members for our crypto offering the spokesperson says This isn t the first time SoFi has offered crypto trading The company previously offered it for several years before halting the organization in as a condition to gain federal approval for its national banking license Banks have been exploring getting more involved with digital assets since the crypto-friendly Trump administration began in January In May the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency distributed updated guidance that allowed banks to buy and sell digital assets Soon after several banks started revealing their crypto trading plans PNC Bank informed in July that it would be partnering with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to offer crypto trading to its retail banking customers and Morgan Stanley plans to launch crypto trading on its E-Trade platform in Other major U S banks are exploring creating their own stablecoins At the same time particular major crypto firms have applied for bank charters of their own Experts say SoFi s launch of crypto trading marks a key moment in banking s evolution This is very important says Felix Shipkevich a payments regulatory attorney and special professor of law at Hofstra University I think it s a major milestone in American finance and something that has been quite long overdue The addition of crypto trading marks the next step in SoFi s meteoric rise since starting in as a peer-to-peer lending platform The bank now offers one of the widest ranges of products and services available from deposit accounts to investing to a dizzying amount of loan options The fintech bank refers to itself as a one-stop shop for financial services Their whole identity is wrapped up around being a cutting-edge tech-driven fintech financial institution says Michael Imerman an assistant professor of teaching in the finance area at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California Irvine and co-author of the book The Economics of FinTech I think adding crypto trading is consistent with that Read Best Online Banks What to Know About SoFi Crypto Those interested in trading digital assets through SoFi Crypto can join a waitlist on the bank s app or website You ll get an email notifying you when you can open an account and begin buying selling and holding cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin ethereum and solana Customers must open SoFi checking and savings accounts to be eligible to open a crypto account You can then directly buy cryptocurrencies using funds from your checking or savings account Digital assets are held in a separate account alongside your other SoFi accounts although they aren t protected by federal insurance However money held in your SoFi checking and savings accounts is federally insured and earns interest SoFi charges a fee on crypto trades but the bank doesn t charge monthly maintenance fees on the account SEE Best Free Checking Accounts Will This Bring More People Into Crypto SoFi says its crypto trading platform is designed for both first-time cryptocurrency traders as well as investors experienced with buying and selling digital assets However the bank likely sees a major opportunity to appeal to beginners and it plans to include educational tools and guidance within its app and on its website to help new traders get familiar with cryptocurrencies The bank is also touting its institutional-level safety as a selling point to ease promising concerns of hesitant investors Ownership of crypto assets and interest in ownership is at all-time high but people are looking for safer regulated access says a SoFi spokesperson SoFi is in a unique position to deliver on this demand and become the trusted entry point for people who want to explore crypto responsibly Whether SoFi manages to tap into a sphere of first-timers remains to be seen although there s no shortage of Americans who ve never dabbled in cryptocurrency Only of U S households own cryptocurrency according to a Gallup Panel survey conducted in June Additionally of survey respondents say they don t have interest in ever owning digital assets Not surprisingly digital assets are more popular among those who own other investments Among investors say they at this time hold cryptocurrency as part of their portfolio according to survey details from BlackRock s People Money review that was circulated this month One hurdle SoFi is eliminating is the need to open a separate account on a crypto exchange Shipkevich says he believes removing that friction could be a big factor in more average Americans getting involved in cryptocurrencies That s a lot of work says Shipkevich Now it s going to be quite seamless SoFi says a survey it conducted indicated that of SoFi customers who own crypto would prefer to buy sell and hold their assets with a licensed bank over their primary crypto exchange SoFi has become a household name and with that they have developed a sense of trust says Imerman I do think that people would feel more settled holding crypto alongside their CDs and their brokerage account and their mortgage However he cautions new traders to make sure they understand the risks of digital assets An asset s value can rise and fall with extreme volatility and he worries specific customers might not realize that crypto deposits aren t federally insured the way traditional bank deposit accounts are It may indeed entice people to take on more danger than they realize they re taking on because they re doing it through a platform that they already trust and that they associate with traditional financial products Imerman says More from U S News Penny Shortage Means You Can t Get Correct Change Who s Buying Up Smaller Banks Here Come the Super Regionals Do You Make These Preventable Banking Mistakes SoFi Becomes First National Bank to Offer Crypto Trading Here s What to Expect originally appeared on usnews com Source