SoFiUSD, backed 1:1 by Fed cash and OCC-regulated, goes live to 14.7 million members on Ethereum and Solana. Watch Mastercard settlement and on-chain supply as adoption signals.
SoFi Technologies is rolling out SoFiUSD, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, to 14.7 million platform members. The token runs on Ethereum and Solana, backed 1:1 by cash reserves at the Federal Reserve. Because SoFi holds a national bank charter, the stablecoin falls under OCC oversight. That makes SoFiUSD the first bank-issued stablecoin on a public, permissionless blockchain.
The naive read treats this as another stablecoin hitting a large user base. The better market read focuses on the regulatory structure. SoFiUSD competes directly with Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT, neither of which is issued by a bank. Both operate under state money-transmitter licenses, not federal bank charters. That distinction affects institutional trust, custody, and settlement finality. JPMorgan’s JPM Coin runs on a permissioned network, limiting its utility. PayPal’s PYUSD comes from a payments company, not a chartered bank. SoFiUSD occupies a unique position: bank-issued, public blockchain, consumer app with massive reach.
The stablecoin first went live on December 18, 2025, on Ethereum, targeting enterprise settlements. On May 5, 2026, SoFi expanded to Solana, citing lower transaction costs and faster settlement times. A Mastercard partnership announced in March 2026 added a card settlement layer. That integration could compress the multi-day settlement cycle merchants currently endure to near-instant finality.
No other bank-issued stablecoin plugs directly into a fintech app with 14.7 million active users. SoFi holds its own banking licence, so the token can be minted, held, and spent inside the existing SoFi ecosystem. Third-party custodians are unnecessary. That reduces friction for retail adoption and gives SoFi a data edge over issuers like Circle, which rely on external exchanges for distribution. SoFi’s crypto business generated $121.6 million in transaction revenue in Q1 2026, a figure that could grow as the stablecoin gains traction.
OCC oversight provides credibility. The underlying deposits are FDIC insured. For institutions, that changes the risk calculus. The same oversight imposes constraints. Any future features like yield-sharing, tokenized deposits, or lending products would need to clear regulatory hurdles that non-bank issuers do not face. Tether and Circle can iterate faster on product design because they operate outside the federal banking framework. SoFiUSD’s advantage in trust is offset by reduced flexibility.
SoFiUSD enters a market where USDC has a circulating supply of about 40 billion tokens and USDT near 110 billion. SoFiUSD’s initial supply is small. Its distribution channel is the differentiator. SoFi’s user base overlaps with the millennial and Gen Z demographics that already trade crypto. Converting a portion of those users from USDC or USDT to SoFiUSD could shift transaction volumes and fee revenue.
PayPal’s PYUSD, launched in 2023 and available on Ethereum, has a similar distribution model. PYUSD lacks the bank charter. Adoption has been steady but not explosive. SoFiUSD’s regulatory edge could accelerate adoption among risk-averse institutions and fintech partners.
If SoFiUSD captures even 5% of SoFi’s user base actively using the stablecoin for payments or trading, that is roughly 735,000 wallets with daily settlement needs. On Solana, that volume could push transaction fees higher and attract liquidity providers. On Ethereum, it could increase demand for L2 scaling solutions. The Mastercard integration is the key catalyst. If merchants start accepting SoFiUSD for settlement, the stablecoin moves from a crypto-native asset to a mainstream payment rail. How that catalyst develops will determine whether the bank-issuance premium becomes a real moat.
SoFi’s stock carries an Alpha Score of 17/100 (Weak) on AlphaScala, reflecting broader financial sector headwinds and execution risk. The stablecoin rollout is a catalyst. It will take months of on-chain data and merchant adoption metrics to confirm whether SoFiUSD is a disruptive product or a niche add-on.
Read more about SoFi’s stablecoin launch: SoFiUSD Stablecoin Reaches 14.7 Million Banking Users. For context on the regulatory shifting landscape, see Banca Sella's Crypto Approval Shifts Italian Banking Landscape.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.