SoFi Bank Turbocharges Cross-Border Payments with Bitcoin Lightning via Lightspark

SoFi just flipped the script on international money transfers—and left traditional banking rails in the dust.

Lightning Strikes Banking

The fintech disruptor integrated Bitcoin’s Lightning Network through Lightspark, slashing settlement times from days to seconds. No more waiting for SWIFT. No more intermediary banks taking a cut. SoFi’s move effectively bypasses the entire legacy cross-border payment system—and it’s live right now.

Why This Matters

This isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a direct assault on bloated transaction fees and sluggish processing. Lightning’s micropayment capabilities open doors for real-time payroll, instant remittances, and frictionless B2B settlements. Traditional banks? Still trying to figure out how to spell 'blockchain.'

Finance’s New Pulse

SoFi’s bet signals a broader shift: crypto infrastructure going mainstream, not as a speculative asset, but as critical financial plumbing. The move also subtly hints that stablecoins might soon face stiff competition from native Bitcoin settlements. Because who needs a digital dollar when you’ve got instant, final settlement on the world’s most secure network?

Closing Thought: Wall Street’s gonna hate how efficient this is—they can’t charge a 3% 'convenience fee' for doing nothing.

SoFi Bank and the Bitcoin Lightning Partner

The technical core of SoFi’s new service is Lightspark’s Universal Money Address (UMA), which allows users to send and receive funds using simple, email-like identifiers. Behind the scenes, UMA routes payments through Bitcoin’s Lightning Network—a LAYER 2 protocol designed to handle small transactions rapidly and cheaply by operating off-chain.

When a user initiates a transfer, the system converts U.S. dollars into bitcoin in real-time, sends the BTC through Lightning channels, and converts it again into the destination country’s currency. Funds land directly in the recipient’s bank account without requiring them to hold or manage crypto.

At launch, the feature will be available for transfers to Mexico, with more countries planned in a phased expansion. SoFi says the phased rollout ensures consistency and security from day one.

SoFi’s return to the digital asset sector

SoFi is stepping back into the crypto space, two years after regulatory headwinds forced it to walk away.

The digital bank backed away from crypto in 2023, not by choice, but under mounting pressure from regulators that left little room to operate within existing rules. By November, customers were asked to transfer or liquidate their holdings, and services shut down shortly after.

However, a change in tone from U.S. regulators opened the door to a comeback. In April 2025, CEO Anthony Noto confirmed SoFi’s renewed interest in crypto and said the company planned to integrate blockchain solutions across lending, investing, payments, and protection products.

As previously reported by crypto.news, the bank restarted spot cryptocurrency trading on its platform in June.