SoFi Bank Launches Spot Crypto Trading

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

• Crypto majors rebounding after Tuesday selloff; BTC at $105,000

• Lighter raises $68M at $1.5B led by Founder’s Fund, Ribbit Capital

• Winklevoss Capital funds new Zcash DAT, buy $50M ZEC

• Circle beats Q3 earnings, eyes ARC token for its stablecoin chain

• SoFi becomes first major fintech to roll out spot crypto trading

Today marks a milestone.

A major U.S. financial institution is launching crypto trading.

SoFi announced it now offers crypto spot trading access for its U.S. consumers directly within its own operations (no third-party integrations, no digital-wallet partners).

Users can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and up to 30 other coins directly within the SoFi app under its bank charter umbrella.

Key points:

• Crypto trading is integrated into SoFi’s existing UI alongside banking, investing and debt solutions.

• The company emphasizes “bank-level confidence” for its crypto experience

• Initially available to U.S. consumers (state-by-state rollout); wallet custody and staking features expected to follow.

• Prioritizing onboarding via simple account linking for users already banking with SoFi.

Buy and trade crypto majors along with your savings account, stock portfolio and credit cards—all under the same hood.

“Today marks a pivotal moment when banking meets crypto in one app, on a trusted platform, and driven by our core mission to help our members get their money right. I believe blockchain technology will fundamentally change EVERY way finance is done throughout the world by making money movement faster, cheaper and safer, while opening new ways for people to borrow better, invest better, spend and save better.” – SoFi CEO Anthony Noto in a statement.

“Data shows 60% of SoFi members who own crypto would prefer to buy, sell and hold their crypto with a licensed bank over their primary crypto exchange—a clear signal of the confidence consumers place in regulated institutions and SoFi’s unique position to meet this demand head-on.” – SoFi statement

SoFi offering crypto alongside is traditional finance products is a big deal.

That convergence does three things:

• Broadens access: users won’t need a crypto-specific exchange, it will just be another tab or drop down in their typical day-to-day interface

• Legitimizes crypto: when regulated fintechs start treating coins like stocks, adoption ramps, regulatory clarity improves and the assets become more normalized (and perhaps more appealing)

• Adds competition: Legacy crypto exchanges now face platforms like SoFi competing on ease, trust and brand for retail flows

The barriers to buying, holding and trading crypto are all falling down in real time. And the pace is accelerating.

The next wave of crypto holders are very likely coming from the established banks.

It’s time to prepare for that wave and the impacts that come with it…

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are rebounding after Tuesday’s selloff; BTC +1% at $105,000; ETH even at $3,550, BNB even at $978, SOL -2% at $159

• CC (+30%), SKY (+15%), DCR (+13%) and ASTER (+10%) led top movers

• Meteora’s MET token soared 35% in the wake of the Uniswap fee switch news

• ETH whales have bought $350M+ during this latest dip, with signs of the purchases coming from institutional players

• Circle confirmed that they are evaluating an $ARC token for their stablecoin chain

• Coinbase abandoned a planned $2B acquisition of stablecoin firm BVNK per Fortune report

• SoFi rolled out crypto trading for its customers with BTC, ETH, SOL and more

• JPMorgan launched its deposit token JPM Coin (JPMD) on Base, meant for institutional clients, in a major expansion of its blockchain products

Ethereum Whales on Buying Spree As Crypto Market Pulls Back

• Biotech firm Leap Therapeutics rebranded as Cypherpunk Technologies and is launching a ZEC DAT seeded with $58.8M from a private plaement led by Winklevoss Capital

• Canary Funds filed its form 8-A for its XRP ETF, now set to launch tomorrow

• Memecoin leaders are mixed; DOGE -1%, Shiba +1%, PEPE +1%, PENGU -1%, BONK -1%, TRUMP -6%, SPX +3%, and FARTCOIN +1%

• TIBBIR jumped 17% to $400M after Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev replied to its AI agent on X

• BITTY +237%, POPCAT +20% and WOJAK +28% led onchain SOL movers

Here’s a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

• Lighter announced a $68M raise at $1.5B valuation led by Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, Robinhood and others

• Monad’s DEX Perpl launched on testnet in private beta, offering onchain perps with low fees

• Injective launched its native EVM mainnet

• Plasma announced a partnership with Daylight Energy to offer “electricity-backed returns” via its yield-bearing asset

• Prophex introduced the “first perpetual prediction market,” offering dynamic odds, levered bets, virtual AMMs and more (PPX at $7.7M)

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• NFT leaders were mixed; Punks even at 35 ETH, Pudgy +2% at 6.04, BAYC +1% at 6.49 ETH; Hypurr’s -5% at 820 HYPE

• Infinex Patrons (+7%) were a notable mover