SoFi is the first in the US to launch transfers via Bitcoin Lightning and UMA
🇺🇸 The fintech bank SoFi Technologies has become the first in the US to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Universal Monetary Address (UMA) for international transfers.
⚡️ The new service is launched in partnership with Lightspark and will initially cover transfers from the US to Mexico.
📌 How it works:
— The user sends dollars in the SoFi app;
— The funds are converted to BTC and pass through Lightning;
— The recipient receives the money already in the national currency in their bank account;
— Addresses are replaced with a convenient UMA format — like email.
💬 SoFi CEO Anthony Noto: “For millions of our users, this is not just convenience. It is a real improvement in everyday financial life.”
🔼 SoFi is one of the largest digital banks in the US with 11.7 million customers.
💡 The integration of Lightning and UMA by a regulated bank is a precedent: blockchain is used not for hype but as a real solution to the problem of fast and cheap transfers. SoFi is competing with SWIFT and Western Union. For the crypto industry, this is a signal: Lightning is becoming an infrastructure standard that banks are beginning to actively implement.