SoFi Becomes the First U.S. National Bank to Accept Direct Solana Network Deposits

SoFi has become the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to enable direct Solana network deposits, allowing its 13.7 million members to transfer SOL from external private wallets into a regulated banking application, a step that moves meaningfully beyond the brokerage-style crypto exposure most traditional banks currently offer.

What the Integration Actually Enables

The distinction between what SoFi has built and what most banks currently provide is worth spelling out. Standard bank crypto offerings allow customers to buy and sell digital assets through an intermediary, the bank holds a position on the customer’s behalf, but the assets don’t move on-chain. SoFi’s integration is structurally different.

Customers can now transfer SOL directly from an external private wallet into SoFi’s infrastructure via the Solana network itself, with the balance appearing alongside checking accounts, savings products, and loans in a single interface.

The regulatory framing matters here. As a nationally chartered bank, SoFi applies its existing compliance and security framework to these on-chain transactions, meaning the deposit carries bank-grade protections rather than the more variable standards of a standalone crypto platform. For customers who hold Solana in self-custody wallets and want consolidated visibility across their financial life, the practical appeal is straightforward.

First Mover in a Field That’s Moving Fast

SoFi’s live integration arrives at a moment when larger institutions are still in the application phase. Morgan Stanley filed for its national trust bank charter with the OCC earlier this week, with direct crypto custody listed as a core objective. The filing is pending. SoFi, by contrast, is already operational, giving it a first-mover position in direct public blockchain deposits among nationally chartered U.S. banks that its larger competitors will need time to close.

The launch follows a strong financial period for the company. SoFi recorded over $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in Q4 2025, a milestone the company described as a blowout quarter. The Solana integration extends a crypto expansion that included the launch of SoFi’s own stablecoin, SoFiUSD, in late 2025, and signals that digital asset services are being treated as a growth driver rather than a peripheral feature.

Why Solana Specifically

The choice of Solana as the first public network to integrate is not incidental. Among active retail crypto users, Solana carries one of the highest engagement rates across DeFi activity, NFT markets, and everyday token transactions. Its network fees are low and transaction speeds are high, characteristics that make it more practical for regular deposits than networks with higher costs or slower finality.

For SoFi’s existing member base, many of whom skew toward younger, financially engaged retail users, Solana is among the assets most likely to already exist in external wallets. The integration removes a friction point, the need to sell, transfer fiat, and repurchase, that has historically kept crypto holdings siloed from traditional banking products.

Whether SoFi extends the same on-chain deposit capability to other networks in the near term has not been confirmed. The Solana integration, however, establishes the infrastructure template for doing so.

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