We are excited to announce the 2018 class of SoFi Entrepreneurs! These ten companies stood out amongst the hundreds of incredible applications we received, representing a diverse set of industries, backgrounds, and big problems they’re trying to solve. We are excited to ride shotgun and help them all navigate their entrepreneurial journeys. Over the next ten months, we’ll devote our coaching and resources to helping each of these ten companies get off the ground, culminating in our Demo Day in October:

Interest in cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, has taken off like a rocket in the last 30 days, spurred largely by the precipitous spike in Bitcoin’s price. While the interest is driving conversation, we feel there hasn’t been enough advice offered to individual investors of how to both make sense of the cryptocurrency boom and to make a decision on whether buying any is a good idea.

Bitcoin is network software that facilitates the secure exchange of digital tokens–called Bitcoins–among anonymous users of the network, anywhere in the world. This New York Times article explains how it works. Other cryptocurrencies work much the same way.

Cryptocurrencies act in some ways like actual currency and can be used to buy a limited number of things, but they are not created by or backed by any government. The full faith and credit of the US government stands behind the dollar. Bitcoin is not backed by anyone. It is hard to create more of most cryptocurrencies, so the interest in them has created demand that is difficult to match, and this has driven up their prices.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – December 8, 2017 – SoFi announced today the closing of its $769 million offering of SoFi Private Student Loan notes (SoFi 2017-F).

The closing marked the company’s 12th ABS transaction this year, bringing its total issuance in 2017 to $6.9 billion, up from $4.2 billion in 2016. The 2017 total includes six Student Loan ReFi and six Consumer Loan transactions.

The 2017-F closing maintains SoFi’s ranking in the top ten ABS issuers for 2017, highlighting its industry leadership. In 2017, SoFi became the first Student Loan Refi issuer to achieve AAA ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and DBRS, and the first Unsecured Personal Loan issuer to achieve AA ratings from S&P, Kroll, and DBRS.

“We’re very gratified by the expanded investor participation in our securitizations this year, which reflects well on the strength of our lending and underwriting, “said Ashish Jain, Senior Vice President of Capital Markets for SoFi. “This year, the number of investors participating in our securitizations has risen to 158 from 115 in 2016.”

The 2017-F securitization was heavily subscribed, with 38 unique investors and $2.3bn in total orders. Joint lead managers were Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs.

About SoFi
SoFi is a new kind of finance company taking a radical approach to lending, wealth management and insurance. From unprecedented products and tools to faster service and open conversations, we’re all about helping our members get ahead and find success. Whether they’re looking to buy a home, save money on student loans, ascend in their careers, or invest in the future, the SoFi community works to empower our members to accomplish the goals they set and achieve financial greatness as a result. For more information, visit SoFi.com.

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