SoFi Technologies has launched SoFi Earn, or SOFIE, an interest-bearing tokenized deposit for consumers that links a bank account balance to its digital-asset services. The San Francisco company announced the product on October 22 and said it is rolling out to SoFi Crypto members through November. Each SOFIE represents $1 held on deposit at SoFi Bank, rather than a separate coin backed by reserves outside the bank.

A deposit first, a token second

SoFi said SOFIE was earning a 4.40% annual percentage yield as of October 20. The rate is variable and can change at any time; there is no minimum balance requirement, and fees may reduce earnings. Funds represented by SOFIE are eligible for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank and per ownership category, subject to the agency's normal rules and limits.

Related reporting: SoFi moves $25 billion card program to stablecoin settlement

That structure separates SOFIE from SoFiUSD, the bank's payment stablecoin. SoFi's disclosures state that SOFIE is a deposit liability of SoFi Bank and is not a payment stablecoin. SoFiUSD, also called SOFID, is designed to remain redeemable one-for-one for U.S. dollars but is not itself a bank deposit and is not covered by FDIC or Securities Investor Protection Corporation insurance.

Conversion connects savings and blockchain use

Members can access the tokenized deposit through a SoFi Crypto account. When they want to purchase a digital asset or transfer money to a supported external wallet, they can convert SOFIE one-for-one into SoFiUSD and then use the stablecoin over supported blockchain rails. The distinction matters: the interest-bearing deposit stays within the bank's deposit framework, while the converted stablecoin provides the on-chain transfer function.

Independent reporting by Fortune described SOFIE as SoFi's first consumer tokenized deposit and noted the trade-off between tokenized deposits and stablecoins. A bank-issued deposit can carry conventional deposit protections and pay interest, but its direct use is generally limited to parties connected to the issuing bank. Stablecoins are usually easier to move between wallets, although their legal structure, reserves and protections differ from bank deposits.

SoFi expands its digital-dollar stack

The launch extends a digital-money push that already includes consumer crypto trading and SoFiUSD. SoFi said members can trade more than 40 cryptocurrencies and that its stablecoin is being used to settle the company's card programme across Mastercard's network. SOFIE adds an earning layer for customers who want to keep dollars available before moving them into crypto or blockchain payments.

SoFi reports 15.8 million members across its broader financial-services business, but the launch announcement does not say how many use its crypto products or will adopt SOFIE. The company describes this as its fifth new crypto offering in less than a year. That pace shows the strategic importance SoFi places on digital dollars, while the phased rollout means availability and customer usage will take time to assess.

The product is not yet evidence of broad consumer adoption. Availability is being phased in through November, the advertised yield can change, and blockchain transfers introduce risks that do not apply while funds remain in a bank deposit. The practical test will be whether customers value switching between an insured interest-bearing balance and a separate transferable stablecoin enough to make the two-step model part of everyday money movement.

Sources

AI-generated editorial image; not a photograph of the reported event. Prepared with AI assistance and source verification.