While traditional banking and crypto generally don’t go together, there are exceptions. Apparently, San Francisco, California-based SoFi Bank owns a massive amount of crypto. The bank with 6 million customers not only holds cryptocurrency but also offers trading services for dozens of cryptocurrencies. That’s according to a new quarterly report filed with US regulators.
SoFi Bank owns Bitcoin and Ethereum
Sofi Bank owns a whopping $166 million worth of cryptocurrencies. By far the bank’s largest crypto allocation is Bitcoin (BTC) with a total of $82 million. The bank also owns $55 million worth of Ethereum (ETH). Other major allotments include Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA).
Interestingly, SoFi wasn’t a bank before. SoFi was only officially licensed to operate as a bank in February 2022, but as early as 2019, SoFi began providing crypto services in partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase. With the banking license in hand, SoFi is one of the few traditional banks offering crypto services in the United States.
Crypto banks are getting stricter oversight
However, that doesn’t mean things are calm at SoFi. The bank was recently questioned by the US Federal Reserve. Earlier this week, the Fed announced that it would tighten its oversight on banks conducting crypto activities.
2022 was far from a good year for the crypto industry. The Terra and FTX fiasco was a negative headline for the industry. The year 2023 has also been turbulent so far. For example, several “crypto banks” closed their doors earlier this year due to liquidity issues. The Fed seems to be doing everything it can to prevent such scenarios.
The Fed therefore currently prefers a clear barrier between the traditional financial sector and the crypto world. For now, banks will be given the opportunity to navigate the crypto waters under close supervision. However, it is clear that crypto is still far from popular with US regulators.