SoFi Rolls Out SoFiUSD Stablecoin to Retail Users; Coinbase and Kalshi Win CFTC Green Light for Perpetuals; Sequans Ends Bitcoin Treasury Plan
ChainCatcher reports that BBX data showed a busy day for crypto's intersection with traditional finance and a notable corporate retreat from Bitcoin reserves.
SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: $SOFI) said in a BusinessWire release that it has launched its SoFiUSD stablecoin inside the SoFi app for roughly 14.7 million members, enabling users to buy, sell, hold and convert the token. The company said this marks the first time a U.S. national bank has embedded its own stablecoin directly into a banking application. The token is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A. and the bank is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
SoFiUSD (onchain ticker: SOFID) is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and is available on Ethereum and Solana. SoFi said the stablecoin is backed by liquid assets and undergoes regular audits by independent CPAs. In the coming weeks, the company plans to roll out tokenized deposits and 24/7 cross-border transfers, and it plans to partner with Bullish to open institutional trading channels. CEO Anthony Noto said: "Users no longer have to choose between blockchain technology and regulated banking products."
SoFi reported $121.6 million in crypto trading revenue in Q1 2026, with the crypto segment posting net income of about $852,000 after costs. The company also disclosed that SoFiUSD is not insured by the FDIC or SIPC, is not legal tender, and onchain transactions are typically irreversible.
Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: $COIN) and prediction market platform Kalshi said they have received CFTC approval to offer crypto perpetual futures products to U.S. customers, making them the first exchanges permitted to launch such products domestically. The CFTC's decision formally brings perpetual futures into the federal derivatives framework. The regulator also issued a policy statement saying applications for perpetual contracts tied to other asset classes will be assessed case by case.
Global crypto perpetual futures trading volume hit $61.7 trillion in 2025, up 29% year over year, according to CryptoQuant. With the U.S. previously lacking regulated onshore venues for perpetuals, the approvals are expected to pull institutional and retail flows back from offshore platforms to compliant U.S. markets, and additional exchanges are expected to submit applications.
Sequans Communications S.A. (NASDAQ: $SQNS) CEO Georges Karam said on the company's latest Q1 2026 earnings call that Sequans has fully ended its Bitcoin treasury reserve strategy. Sequans launched the initiative in June 2025, raising about $384 million via debt and equity financing and amassing 3,000 BTC by late July 2025.
After an October 2025 flash crash triggered deleveraging, Sequans sold 970 BTC in November 2025 and sold another 1,025 BTC in Q1 2026. The company currently holds about 658 BTC, carries zero debt, and values the remaining position at roughly $46.8 million. Sequans said it plans to gradually liquidate the rest and redirect all proceeds to its core semiconductor business. As an IoT/5G semiconductor maker, Sequans is being cited as a prominent 2026 example of a corporate Bitcoin reserve strategy that failed to hold.
