US Bank Reveals $166M Crypto Holdings: Q2 Earnings Report
• US bank SoFi holds $166 million in crypto on its balance sheet according to its Q2 earnings report.
• SoFi offers trading for over 22 cryptocurrencies, and has seen a significant increase in crypto holdings compared with the previous quarter.
• The future of partnerships between traditional finance and crypto is uncertain due to the collapse of several crypto-focused banks in 2023.
SoFi Bank Holds Crypto Investments on Balance Sheet
The United States-based SoFi Bank holds almost $170 million in cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, according to its second quarter (Q2) earnings report. The San Fransico-based bank serves over six million customers and holds Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Out of the total investments, it holds $82 million worth of BTC and $55 million worth of ETH, with DOGE at almost $5 million and ADA at $4.5 million.
Crypto Services Offered Before Banking License
SoFi started offering crypto services even before becoming a bank, onboarding over 500,000 customers since September 2019 when it partnered with Coinbase exchange. However, it only obtained a banking license in February 2022 – making it one of the few traditional banks providing crypto services.
U.S Legislators Show Concern Over Compliance
In November 2022, U.S legislators questioned SoFi’s compliance with banking law while reminding them of a January 2024 deadline – raising concerns about the future of partnerships between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies. Cointelegraph reached out to SoFi Bank for clarity on their compliance deadline but didn’t receive a response by publication time.
2022 Turbulence & 2023 Collapses Affect Partnerships
Following a turbulent 2022 and the collapse of several crypto-focused banks in 2023, lawmakers rushed to contain the damage and save customers’ funds – putting a dent in partnerships between crypto and traditional finance for the future as regulators blamed cryptocurrencies for these collapses.
Mass Adoption Crucial Step For Crypto Sector
The association between mainstream banking and cryptos is seen as an essential step towards mass adoption but remains uncertain due to recent events within the sector.
