SoFi launches tokenized deposit paying 4.40% that converts to its stablecoin

What happened

SoFi Technologies introduced a tokenized deposit for retail customers called SoFi Earn, trading under the ticker SOFIE, in an announcement on Thursday. Each token stands for one dollar held on deposit at SoFi Bank, N.A., and the company describes the product as the first consumer tokenized deposit issued by a nationally chartered U.S. bank.

The offering advertises a 4.40% annual percentage yield, which SoFi says is variable and can change at any time. Company disclosures list Oct. 20 as the rate's effective reference date and state that there is no minimum balance requirement, though fees may reduce earnings. Balances behind the tokens qualify for federal deposit insurance under standard rules, generally covering up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.

When a holder wants to use the money, SOFIE converts one-for-one into SoFiUSD, the bank's dollar-denominated stablecoin. From there, customers can buy cryptocurrency inside the SoFi app or send funds to supported external wallets over blockchain networks that run around the clock. SoFi's disclosures state that SoFiUSD is not a deposit and does not carry FDIC insurance, unlike SOFIE.

Members reach the SOFIE deposit account through their SoFi Crypto account. SoFi said access is being extended to eligible crypto customers gradually, with availability continuing through November.

Why it matters

Stablecoins have become a common place to park digital dollars, but many pay no interest and are not covered by deposit insurance. SoFi is pitching SOFIE at that gap, arguing that balances waiting to be deployed can keep earning until the moment they are spent. "Too much money in the digital asset ecosystem is sitting idle, leaving massive potential earnings on the table for millions of people," CEO Anthony Noto said in the announcement, describing the product as combining "the earning power and protections of a bank deposit with the speed and utility of digital assets."

The design also turns on a regulatory distinction. SoFi's disclosure identifies SOFIE as a deposit liability and says the token is not a payment stablecoin, while payment stablecoins sit under a separate framework and are not themselves insured. Federal regulators have maintained that eligible tokenized deposits keep their existing treatment under deposit insurance rules, and the FDIC has separately proposed clarifying that deposits meeting the statutory definition retain their insurance treatment regardless of the technology used to record them. The launch lands a day after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule on payment stablecoin issuance and some custody activities, with the GENIUS Act framework due to take effect in mid-January.

For trading venues, the product raises a competitive question: if customers can earn on dollars while keeping a short path into digital assets, some balances that might have sat on exchange platforms could stay inside a regulated banking product instead.

What the data shows

To size the pool of money it is targeting, SoFi cited Federal Reserve research estimating that roughly $64 billion, or about 21.2% of stablecoin supply, sits in wallets that are inactive, forgotten or rarely used. That share matches an April estimate from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which sorted stablecoins by trading, transfer, payment and idle uses. The advertised yield is 4.40% APY, with a $250,000-per-depositor insurance ceiling under standard FDIC rules. SoFi illustrated the mechanics with a customer holding $5,000 for a future crypto purchase: at an unchanged 4.40% rate, the balance would earn roughly $220 over a year before fees, though actual returns depend on the applicable rate and how long the money is held.

Background

SoFi returned to consumer crypto trading in November 2025, a business it had previously exited, and its platform now lists more than 40 tokens. It introduced SoFiUSD in December 2025 for internal settlement and opened the stablecoin to members on May 27, 2026, saying at the time that it would build a way to convert the stablecoin into tokenized deposits. SoFiUSD now settles the company's entire card program over Mastercard's network, and in September Kraken parent Payward agreed to list the stablecoin and join SoFi's around-the-clock settlement network.

The company has also launched business banking for digital assets, and it counts SOFIE as its fifth crypto-related product release in under a year. SoFi reports 15.8 million members and says its technology arm serves more than 134 million global accounts.

What is still unclear

Several practical details are not fully spelled out in the announcements, including how quickly SOFIE can be redeemed, whether withdrawals face limits, and what conditions determine the advertised yield beyond its variable nature. It is also unclear how broadly eligibility will extend once the November rollout finishes, or how the conversion process will be treated for tax and reporting purposes.

What to watch

The timing puts SOFIE in front of a regulatory calendar: the OCC's stablecoin rule is now final and the GENIUS Act framework takes effect in mid-January, which could shape how banks structure yield-bearing digital dollar products. Also worth watching is whether other nationally chartered banks follow with tokenized deposits of their own, and whether the FDIC's proposed clarification on deposit insurance and record-keeping technology is finalized.

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