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SoFi Gets Bitlicense Approval for Crypto Trading Service

Anatol Antonovici | Dec 04, 2019 | 09:30

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US-based personal finance company Social Finance (SoFi) obtained the approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for its BitLicense application.

New Yorkers Can Trade Cryptos via SoFi Digital Assets

The NYDFS has permitted Social Finance to provide crypto trading services to its New York customers via its subsidiary SoFi Digital Assets.

Social Finance decided to develop the service after multiple requests from its members. The crypto trading solution was about to launch in September of this year. The company has authorization to operate with the following digital currencies: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Ether Classic, Stellar Lumens, and Litecoin. Initially, the SoFi trading service will support Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The company plans to add up to 40 other coins.

For those unfamiliar, the BitLicense refers to the business license for crypto activities issued by the NYSDFS. The regulations touch upon operations in the state of New York.

We’ve got big news, New York!🗽 Now you can trade #Bitcoin, #Ethereum, and #Litecoin right alongside stocks and ETFs in the SoFi app. Find out more here 👉 https://t.co/vzJQiC2OCD pic.twitter.com/XF8yVy4s5J

— SoFi (@SoFi) December 3, 2019

Social Finance CEO Anthony Noto commented:

Putting our members’ interests first is our top priority at SoFi. That includes both offering individuals the products they want, like cryptocurrency within SoFi Invest, as well as protecting them, through a solid regulatory framework like that created by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Noto, a former COO at Twitter and former managing director at Goldman Sachs, added that the crypto service would complete SoFi’s full suite of finance products that enable members to borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their funds.

Crypto Trading Offered in Partnership with Coinbase

At the beginning of this year, SoFi said that it would develop the crypto trading service in collaboration with US crypto exchange Coinbase.

The new cypto trading service charges a markup of up to 1.25% on crypto transactions, which is added to the market price on Coinbase, where SoFi submit market orders. The company said that it might change the markup at any time.

The minimum order size per crypto purchase is $10, while the maximum buy is $50,000.

Social Finance is a personal finance firm that offers student loan refinancing, mortgages and personal loans, among others. SoFi Invest, which was released earlier this year, operates three platforms. Besides the crypto trading service, it provides automated (robo-advising) and active investing in stock and ETF trading.

What do you think about SoFi’s crypto trading services? Share your thoughts in the comments section!  

Image via Shutterstock, Twitter: @SoFi