SoFi Lets 13.7M Users Deposit SOL Directly via Solana Network

SoFi, a nationally chartered U.S. bank with more than $50 billion in assets and 13.7 million customers, has enabled native on‑chain SOL deposits on the Solana network. Customers can now transfer SOL directly from external wallets (eg, Phantom, Solflare) into unique deposit addresses tied to their SoFi crypto accounts and manage SOL alongside checking and savings within the SoFi mobile app. The integration uses the Solana SPL token standard and clears on‑chain in seconds, removing prior steps that required selling crypto, wiring USD, and repurchasing within SoFi. That reduces friction and costs (avoids double spreads and wire fees); SoFi still requires users to pay Solana network fees. SoFi’s move — the first announced acceptance of on‑chain Solana deposits by a nationally chartered U.S. bank — likely involved compliance and custody safeguards (address whitelisting, transaction monitoring) and could encourage broader retail inflows and custody flows for SOL. At the time of reporting SOL traded near $81.42 after a recent ~5% 24‑hour drop; technical commentary cited near‑term support around $76.60 and resistance near $91–$92 with supply around $85–$87. Analysts expect the feature to attract Solana users, pressure rival fintechs to offer similar direct on‑chain deposit options, and possibly pave the way for support of additional SPL tokens or other chains if adoption proves strong.