Fintech firm SoFi has launched SOFIE, a tokenised deposit product offering a 4.4 percent annual return.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Oct. 22 that the product is designed to issue bank deposits in token form while keeping deposit insurance coverage, and to let users swap them into stablecoins for cryptocurrency trading.

SoFi said there is no minimum deposit and that 1 SOFIE represents $1 deposited at SoFi Bank. Users can convert SOFIE 1-for-1 into SoFiUSD, the bank’s dollar-linked stablecoin. Conversions are available 24 hours a day.

Deposit protection follows the same standards as regular bank deposits. SOFIE deposits are covered by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp up to $250,000 per depositor by account ownership type. By contrast, SoFiUSD is not covered by FDIC insurance.

The launch also coincides with moves to refine stablecoin regulation. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued final rules on Oct. 21 covering payment stablecoin issuance and some custodial services. The GENIUS Act framework is also set to take effect in mid-January 2027. Against that backdrop, SoFi expanded the touchpoints between regulated finance and digital assets by rolling out a structure linking deposits and stablecoins as a commercial product.

SoFi previously said in May, when it made SoFiUSD available in its consumer banking app, that it would follow up with an interest-bearing tokenised deposit. The latest launch connects the roadmap it flagged at the time to an actual service.

The service will be expanded in stages. SoFi said it plans to roll out SOFIE sequentially to SoFi Crypto members through November. Users will access a separate SOFIE deposit account through their SoFi Crypto account.

The core of the product is that it ties yield-bearing deposits, deposit insurance and stablecoin conversion into a single flow. Insurance coverage, however, differs clearly between the two products. Users may need to distinguish between the scope of protection on the bank-deposit side and the stablecoin side.

With SoFi releasing a token product backed by bank deposits, competition among U.S. financial firms in digital-asset products is more likely to develop along separate deposit-based and stablecoin-based models. Points to watch include the pace of early adoption among SoFi Crypto members and whether such products take hold as a way to move funds after regulatory frameworks are put in place.