SoFi Technologies will launch international remittance services through the Bitcoin Lightning Network later this year, marking the Nasdaq-listed company's return to cryptocurrency services after a 2023 hiatus during its transition to national banking status. The partnership with Lightspark will enable real-time cross-border money transfers using the company's Universal Money Address system.
What to Know:
- SoFi will offer Lightning Network remittances through Lightspark's Universal Money Address, allowing users to send dollars while recipients receive local currency
- Bitcoin DeFi project Bitlayer expanded to Solana with its YBTC token, while Valantis acquired stHYPE for undisclosed terms
- Hyperbeat raised $5.2 million in seed funding led by ether.fi Ventures and Electric Capital to build yield infrastructure on Hyperliquid
SoFi Returns to Digital Assets
The remittance product will allow SoFi app users to send U.S. dollars internationally, with recipients receiving deposits in local currencies abroad. Lightspark's Universal Money Address provides access to what the company describes as a global payment rail designed for speed and scale. Transfers will display upfront exchange rates and fees, addressing traditional pain points in remittance services.
SoFi halted crypto services in 2023 during its transition to becoming a national bank. Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to offer international remittances through blockchain technology and stablecoins, alongside allowing users to invest in cryptocurrency. The Lightning Network partnership represents a significant step in SoFi's crypto re-entry strategy.
Major DeFi Developments Across Networks
Bitcoin DeFi project Bitlayer partnered with Kamino Finance and Orca to bring its Bitcoin-backed token YBTC to the Solana ecosystem. The integration combines Bitlayer's security infrastructure with Solana's speed and scalability, according to Charlie Hu, Bitlayer's co-founder.
YBTC maintains a 1:1 peg with Bitcoin and serves as the central component of Bitlayer's BitVM bridge.
The bridge facilitates trust-minimized Bitcoin transfers by eliminating centralized intermediaries.
The token represents users' locked Bitcoin within the Bitlayer ecosystem, enabling interoperability between Bitcoin and decentralized finance applications.
Solana users holding YBTC can access yield opportunities through Kamino's institutional-grade earn vaults. These vaults provide auto-compounding and optimized Bitcoin-denominated returns, allowing assets to grow without active management.
Hyperliquid Ecosystem Expansion
Valantis, a decentralized exchange protocol, acquired Staked Hype (stHYPE), the second-largest liquid staking token on Hyperliquid. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. stHYPE launched as the first liquid staking token on HyperEVM and currently holds approximately $180 million in total value locked.
Following the acquisition, Valantis Labs will manage stHYPE's operations, development, and scaling efforts. Addison Spiegel, founder of Thunderhead and the team behind stHYPE, will serve as an advisor to Valantis. Liquid staking represents a central component within Hyperliquid's ecosystem, accounting for more than half of the network's $2.26 billion in DeFi total value locked.
Hyperbeat secured $5.2 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round co-led by ether.fi Ventures and Electric Capital.
The protocol powers yield infrastructure on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange. Additional investors included Coinbase Ventures, Chapter One, Selini, Maelstrom, Anchorage Digital, and community backers through the HyperCollective.
The funding will support development of yield infrastructure for traders, protocols, and institutions within the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Hyperbeat functions as the native yield layer for Hyperliquid, building permissionless financial infrastructure that allows users to earn, stake, and spend directly from their on-chain portfolios.
Understanding Key Cryptocurrency Terms
Several technical terms feature prominently in these developments. Liquid staking tokens represent blockchain assets that allow users to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity for other DeFi activities. The Lightning Network operates as a second-layer solution built on top of Bitcoin, enabling faster and cheaper transactions than the main Bitcoin blockchain.
Total value locked measures the total amount of cryptocurrency assets deposited in DeFi protocols and serves as a key metric for protocol success. BitVM bridges facilitate the transfer of Bitcoin to other blockchain networks while maintaining security and decentralization principles.
Traditional Finance Tokenization Push
Beyond cryptocurrency-native developments, traditional financial institutions are embracing blockchain technology. SkyBridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci's investment management firm, plans to tokenize $300 million worth of hedge funds on the Avalanche network. The firm will bring its Digital Macro Master Fund and Legion Strategies on-chain through a partnership with tokenization provider Tokeny.
Thumzup Media, which counts Donald Trump Jr. as a large shareholder, announced plans to acquire Dogehash Technologies in an all-stock deal worth $153.8 million. The transaction represents a pivot from digital marketing into industrial-scale cryptocurrency mining. The combined company will rebrand as Dogehash Technologies Holdings and list on Nasdaq under the ticker XDOG.
Regulatory Framework Evolution
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman delivered remarks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium that signaled a shift in regulatory sentiment toward cryptocurrency. Bowman warned that banks failing to embrace digital assets "will play a diminished role in the financial system more broadly." She acknowledged that the industry has experienced significant friction with bank regulators applying unclear standards and conflicting guidance.
The cryptocurrency industry is pushing back against Wall Street bankers' attempts to modify the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation. The Crypto Council for Innovation and Blockchain Association urged Senate Banking Committee leaders to reject proposals that would strip key provisions from the law and ban yield programs offered by stablecoin issuer affiliates.
Closing Thoughts
These developments reflect accelerating adoption of cryptocurrency infrastructure by traditional financial institutions and continued expansion of decentralized finance ecosystems. The integration of established companies like SoFi with Bitcoin's Lightning Network alongside major funding rounds and acquisitions demonstrates growing institutional confidence in digital asset technology.