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SoFi embraces dogecoin after 'watching it incredulously'

"Time in fintech moves fast — like dog-years fast," SoFi said in a blog post explaining the change.

​A collectible souvenir represents the dogecoin cryptocurrency.

SoFi now offers dogecoin after telling customers "don't hold your breath."

Photo: Liu Junfeng/Visual China Group via Getty Images

SoFi has changed its mind about dogecoin. The company said Thursday that it has begun offering dogecoin as an investment option to customers, just four months after essentially telling them it'll never happen.

"Time in fintech moves fast -- like dog-years fast," SoFi said in a blog post. "We are excited to now offer dogecoin on SoFi invest."

That's a big shift from February when SoFi, in a blog post titled "Dodging the Doge," said it was "watching incredulously" as dogecoin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that began as a joke, soared to new highs, propelled in part by Elon Musk's tweets and fans rallying around it on social media.

SoFi, which offers trading in major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, stressed in February that it is "always evaluating the possibility" of adding others. "But when it comes to dogecoin, well… don't hold your breath."

So what changed?

SoFi cited several key developments, including Coinbase's decision to also add dogecoin, the growing merchant acceptance of the currency, and the steady growth of dogecoin into one of the top cryptocurrencies today.

Dogecoin is currently the sixth biggest cryptocurrency with a market value of nearly $43 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Benjamin Pimentel

Benjamin Pimentel ( @benpimentel) covers crypto and fintech from San Francisco. He has reported on many of the biggest tech stories over the past 20 years for the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch and Business Insider, from the dot-com crash, the rise of cloud computing, social networking and AI to the impact of the Great Recession and the COVID crisis on Silicon Valley and beyond. He can be reached at bpimentel@protocol.com or via Google Voice at (925) 307-9342.

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