New York, March 3, 2026, 07:28 EST — Premarket
SoFi Technologies Inc (SOFI.O) dropped 1.1% to $18.19 before the bell on Tuesday, after the company and Mastercard announced plans to expand their partnership, aiming to include settlement via SoFi’s U.S. dollar stablecoin, SoFiUSD.
Here, timing plays a big role. Payment companies are eyeing nonstop money movement, trying to dodge those standard banking cutoff hours. Stablecoins come into the conversation as a speedier solution for moving funds across borders and settling wholesale trades.
SoFi is coming off a stretch marked by volatility, putting a spotlight on management’s messaging and any new growth angles they’re hinting at.
SoFi CEO Anthony Noto snapped up 56,000 shares in open market buys on March 2, shelling out an average of $17.8842 per share. That’s about $1.0 million out of pocket, based on the SEC filing. After this latest purchase, his direct stake jumps to 11,675,452 shares.
SoFi is pitching SoFiUSD as a fully backed stablecoin linked to the U.S. dollar, and says it’s the first of its kind from a nationally chartered, federally insured U.S. deposit bank built for use on a public blockchain. The company’s latest move: teaming up with Mastercard to pilot SoFiUSD settlement for card transactions—think cross-border money transfers and B2B payments. SoFiUSD is set to land on Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network, according to the company. Mastercard’s Sherri Haymond pointed to the growing need for “trusted digital currencies” at a larger scale. SoFi’s bank expects to settle its Mastercard credit and debit activity in SoFiUSD, and Galileo clients will get another settlement route, too. CEO Anthony Noto says it’s a play for “faster, cheaper and safer” transactions. The firm notes that stablecoin daily volumes are running close to $30 billion, with more issuance eyed for 2025. SoFi Investors
SoFi shares closed at $18.39 on Monday, up 3.55%, with about 71.7 million shares changing hands, Nasdaq figures showed.
Even with the bounce, the stock remains down 44% from its $32.73 high over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Still, the stablecoin launch isn’t without complications. Companies involved face regulatory hurdles and must comply with Mastercard’s network standards, adding layers of uncertainty. Investors, for now, have little visibility into how quickly settlement volumes could scale.
Macro is squarely in focus. All eyes are on the Federal Reserve’s March 17-18 policy meeting, with investors combing for any nuances in rate guidance that might jolt borrowing demand or move the needle on funding costs across consumer lending.
