Is crypto really money or just a gamble? That’s the kind of question Erikka Arone hears all the time. And in this episode of The Credit Union Connection, she doesn’t sidestep it. She digs in, breaking down the blockchain in plain English and explaining why stablecoins may be less sci-fi and more everyday reality than many leaders realize.
Credit unions’ trust, built over decades, is exactly what the crypto world has been missing.”
But the bigger twist comes when Sarah Snell Cooke presses on what it all means for credit unions. The answer isn’t about hype. It’s about survival. Members are already in the game, moving dollars into crypto accounts, and the question is whether credit unions want to be part of that journey or watch more young members pass them by.
Erikka speaks with the confidence of someone who once doubted crypto herself. She laughs about her early distrust, then pivots to why she now believes credit unions can’t afford to ignore it. To her, this isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about being where members already are, whether that’s a retiree shifting $100,000 into a safer place or younger members who see Bitcoin as just another line in their portfolio.
Ironically, the human element is critical in crypto services. Sure, people can buy crypto on a big exchange, but when something goes wrong, good luck finding a real person to call. Credit unions have the edge here, offering what Erikka calls “a face behind the service.” That trust, built over decades, is exactly what the crypto world has been missing.
Sarah teases out another layer too: the business upside. Early adopters are reporting thousands of dollars more in lifetime member value, and that’s before even fully marketing the service. It’s a reminder that relevance and revenue can actually walk hand in hand if leaders are willing to take the leap.
The conversation ends on a note that feels less like a warning and more like an invitation. The rules are still being written, volatility will always exist, but credit unions don’t need to figure it out alone. As Erikka puts it, evolving with the times doesn’t mean abandoning who you are. It means making sure members know they can trust you in whatever future comes next.
NOTE: The following transcript was created by our robot overlords. It could have a boo-boo here and there.
Unknown Speaker
Right. No worries. No worries at all.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Hello, and welcome everybody. My name is Sarah Snell Cooke. I’m your host here at The Credit Union Connection, and I’m here today with Erikka Arone, welcome.
Erikka Arone
Hello, great to have you here. Erica is the Head of Product Marketing at a company called sFOX. I’m going to let her go a little more detail on herself, and as well as introducing the company, take it away. Well, it’s great to be here. So my name is Erica Ronne, and I manage product marketing corporate development for sFOX. What is sFOX? sFOX is a company that helps institutional investors, buy, sell, trade, hold crypto in custody as well as borrow. So it’s a full service company that offers also interesting software called sFOX connect, and that’s a full stack platform that enables institutions such as credit unions safely offer crypto and stable coin services to their end users, and it enables them to do so without having to build the infrastructure as well as acquire the licenses and build the compliance teams themselves. So sFOX really is a platform that enables folks to access crypto as well as safely comply with the many regulations and manage the risk of crypto as well. Yeah, yeah, no, all sounds great. And I know there, I don’t know. I could estimate maybe a dozen credit unions into crypto so far, maybe more, but definitely heading that direction. For sure, very interested, because, of course, our members are interested, and they’re there to serve their members. And I know there is some confusion, because it is relatively new product.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Could you provide a quick primer on like, the differences between like, the distributed ledger, the crypto itself, the cryptocurrency. Can you distinguish between those and whatever else I’m missing too? Yeah, absolutely. So I’m so excited to share this information with folks, because I think a lot of people have either a basic understanding or basic fear, truly of crypto in that
Erikka Arone
it’s a new asset class of money that has not had a great deal of clarity regulation, oversight and, to Be frank, risk management. But crypto is built on a distributed ledger technology called the blockchain, and the blockchain is a digital record book that enables information to be stored across a distributed network of computers. It is, quote, unquote, immutable. So in a sense, it is a trusted open platform, but there’s a lot of digital assets as well as other applications in technology that are built on top of the blockchain. So think of it as beyond web three. Oh, some extent. So if you think about it in that regard, there’s an entire area called cryptocurrency, which, as I mentioned, is a digital asset or a different store of wealth. So if you think about money, you can just think of it as another type of money. So in addition to fiat, which is what we’re all familiar with, dollars, currencies, traditional currencies that are backed by governments or they’re backed by treasuries or other commodities, crypto is backed by a number of different types of technologies. You might have heard of a term called stable coins. Stable coins. There’s an entire array of stable coins. Most people are familiar with those stable coins that are pegged to the US dollar, and so there’s a great deal of interest in money being moved towards stable coins, and not necessarily primarily based on traditional currencies such as the US dollar.
Sarah Snell Cooke
And I mean, we had just had the genius act that passed, so definitely going to be increasing interest there as well in the stable coin. So thank you for that, but so your company says that cryptos need the credit unions and those other lenders or financial institutions, excuse me, that have built a lot of trust up, because crypto is new, and it does take time to build trust, and so do the crypto currency company. Companies really care about trust. Part of it was built on a lack of trust originally.
Erikka Arone
Yeah, absolutely. I think that by and large crypto, current currency, companies do care about trust in that you that the across the ecosystem, we’ve seen companies, both crypto companies and other financial institutions, to be frank, that are traditional financial institutions take too many risks, perhaps do things are not above the board, and what happens then is the system comes crashing down, and some of those companies do rely on a lot of intervention in order to, you know, have them work in that gray area. But there’s so much opportunity with regards to new regulations, the growing interest in people diversifying their assets or using cryptocurrency operationally, for their treasuries, for their own payments, et cetera, where the opportunity to build a business and an ecosystem that is trustworthy is just one of the biggest opportunities, financial opportunities in the history of mankind, to be frank, not to overstate, not, not to be accused of overstating the opportunity. And So trust is absolutely essential so that these companies can continue, not only to be frank, flourish make money, but also to protect themselves, because now the ecosystem is really at this point where, with more regulatory clarity, with more technology, with more overall adoption and with more innovation of people using cryptocurrency for different uses, trust is absolutely key to underscore that, by and large, folks who are under the age of 40, you know, I think some estimates have ranged north of 25% have their primary assets, their investments in crypto and so, you know, rather than hurt the goose that’s laying the golden egg, a lot of companies, cryptocurrency companies, have seen what has happened to some companies that that don’t operate in a manner that is trustworthy, implode and suffer the consequences. And so, rather than be tempted to be frank, to take on too much risk or to do things that are not trustworthy or untrustworthy, cryptocurrency companies are leaning in in terms of building trustworthy systems, complying with reporting and risk management and working with governments around the world to make sure that the new network of money, shall we say, is not only favorable to them, but is stable and trustworthy.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Yeah, absolutely. That makes perfect sense. And so do you have an estimate how many credit unions are involved in crypto, and how are they engaging?
Erikka Arone
Well, I mean, by involved, I’d say that, you know, definitely hundreds are assessing how to use crypto. You know, I’d given that quote of around north of, you know, 25% of folks under the age of 40, having crypto as a very big part of their asset, investments, etc, and their and their long term plans, honestly, to pass on their wealth. And so while I’d say hundreds are assess in crypto in terms of being able to offer it or being able to guide their membership on crypto, I’d say that fewer than fewer than 30 probably currently offer it. There are some really interesting companies that are actually using sFOX technology in the credit union space, and even the regional banks are getting in on it, where they’re using sFOX Connect, that platform I mentioned earlier, to enable their clients to be able to stay within the credit unions and buy crypto and put it into their accounts with the credit unions, rather than these folks withdrawing money and setting up other accounts at Coinbase and etc, where To be frank, a lot of people, while you know, they understand that these companies are trustworthy, trust their credit unions much more.
Sarah Snell Cooke
So it’s an opportunity they think a lot of credit unions are. Are investigating right now, right, right? And they’re members, I’m sure, asking for it as well. And certainly credit unions have had a difficult time getting younger members in the door. So one step closer, one step one thing that they are really actively seeking. And so what’s the first thing a credit union leader should know or do when they’re considering you mentioned hundreds getting in their institution into crypto?
Erikka Arone
Well, first of all, I think that credit union leaders should know that crypto isn’t about speculation anymore. I mean, it’s been advised across, you know, all the blue chip investment advisors that crypto is anywhere from four to 10% of your investment assets. And so it’s, it’s really about member service at this point, if you want to retain your members if you want your membership to grow. It’s about financial wellness, and so offering crypto is critical. Might some folks might look at the prices of Bitcoin right now and see the volatility of certain crypto like eth, and just say, Nope, this is this is too chaotic, or I don’t understand it. But the reality is, a number of their members, not just folks under the age of 40, but several folks, are looking to acquire and store and pass on that crypto to their families. So the other thing that I think credit union leaders need to understand is it’s an overwhelming, multi year learning curve if you want to build it yourself, and it requires a lot of expertise, both on the technology side, as well as accessing, again, the ability to buy crypto at fair prices, not just the top cryptocurrency coins, but you know, some of the ones that are also super promising and helpful that that their members are going to definitely Be interested in some of these cryptocurrencies, such as usdg are going to enable folks to earn yield, which is really surprising to a lot of folks. Now, people are like, What I don’t understand, if that’s a stable coin, if usdg is a stable coin, then how does it earn yield? These are things that cryptocurrency, that the credit union leaders don’t have to do alone, and they don’t have to hire a team of experts.
Sarah Snell Cooke
There are services, again, such as sFOX, but there are ways for credit unions to participate and offer these, these services to their to their members and there’s going to be a lot of support from the US government in order to allow them to do this in a safe, regulated way, right? Yeah, again, with the bill that just passed, and President Trump has been supportive of the cryptocurrency in the past and different statements and in a company, as you mentioned, it’s a couple years to get educated, even if you’re probably outsourcing, I’m sure, and so if you’re not starting now, I can’t imagine what will be happening at your credit union in a few years, because The, I mean, it’s an entirely new payment system where credit unions could be entirely negated. Credit unions, banks, whomever.
Erikka Arone
Excellent point. Sarah, so you know, I was talking about it just now, primarily as a service to their members, but even for credit unions to be able to use things like stable coins for their own operations or to offer their business clients payment rails. So, you know, I’d love to go even deeper into coins, but just really quickly. In a nutshell, stable coins are going to enable folks to be able to move money at a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a penny instantaneously, seven days a week. 24/7 which is truly a huge service for institutions. So for credit unions to be able to access funds for their business clients, for their members, you know, no longer relying on wires or ACH or the like it’s going to it’s going to increase the velocity of money. It’s going to increase honestly, reduced risk, because no longer are you expecting, you know, some sort of ACH probability that the funds will be. Translated, it will be a confirmed translation transfer of that stable coin or of those assets. And those stable coins are easily interchangeable with Fiat. The on and off ramps are very easy. And so I think it’s frankly genius that the genius Act was passed first for stable coins, because it’s, it really is a logical, intelligent way for the US economy to be even stronger in the global economy and in just our own economy, by enabling stable coins. And so the other thing that credit unions can look to is using crypto for their treasury. Building up treasuries. There are examples of of companies such as strategy amassing enormous balance sheets and countries enormousing, amassing, you know, wealth by accumulating assets that people believe will, on the long term, be incredibly valuable. You know, for example, Bitcoin only has so many coins that you’re offered. There’s an there’s a finite number, and so many companies and financial institutions are looking to have their own crypto strategies as well,
Sarah Snell Cooke
For sure, and I bet it’s a fraud reduction too, because only the people who are intended to receive it can receive it who have the other key or Whatever, as I understand, but that has to be has been very carefully safeguarded, and that’s why having a trustworthy custodian is absolutely key.
Erikka Arone
And so, for example, SFox’s primary business is offering the ability to buy sell crypto as well as offer the technology and a platform for credit unions and financial institutions, we offer a custody that’s a trust, licensed custody that’s also insured. And so again, we act as a fiduciary, in a sense where, you know, we act in the best interest of folks from a custody perspective. So the storage of crypto, the safe storage of crypto, is absolutely critical, and a lot of credit unions might be interested in understanding how they can offer that service to their members, because right now, the everyday consumer is inundated with, you know, with choices as to how to store their crypto, and it can be incredibly confusing and quite honestly scary. You know, there are, there are many cases of fraud. Some people, you know, there’s infamous stories that everybody, many people have heard about people losing their keys and then losing their crypto, and they’re very, very expensive services for people to store this information. And so I think credit unions also have a really great opportunity to offer custody as a service as well.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Wow. Yeah, good, great idea. And so, you know, with the credit unions that and or banks that you’re working with, what sort of results are you seeing, as far as, like, the not, I mean, I read your research and it mentioned that there is an there are opportunities for non interest income, which is a big deal, as the interest income can be much more flux, or flux fluctuate much more. And then also, like member retention, adding members. What are, what are some of the results you all have seen?
Erikka Arone
Yeah, well, so first of all, in terms of some of the initial results that we’ve seen, we’ve had credit unions tell the s box connect customers that offer our software to these credit unions, that they’ve seen a lifetime value increase of $1,000 per member, which is really, really interesting. You know, if you consider a member being with a credit union for maybe a dozen years, and they don’t, they’re not very active. You know, they might have a car loan with the credit union and a small account that supplements their other bank accounts or other investment accounts, and so from an increase in revenue for credit unions, enormous opportunity. And that’s early days. That’s not fully marketed impact that I’m sharing. So imagine if you actually then fully educate and market to your member base, the and again, a lot of these folks who. Um, who are credit union members, they might have multiple accounts, and so if you offer a safe service that actually has a human attached to it, versus some of these crypto companies that are working with consumers, that you know, if a consumer has a question, good luck getting customer service. I don’t know if you’ve personally ever experienced that, but you know, to this day, it’s it is really a lot of consumers kind of trying to, you know, do the best they can with not a lot of customer service. So credit unions have that opportunity in terms of retention and also winning customers, acquiring new customers, I think a lot of folks know who their credit unions are. Maybe they’ve even been a credit union member in the past, and they no longer are credit union members. Maybe after they graduated from college, for example, they just, they didn’t continue their student credit union membership or etc, I’d say that a lot of folks just want to work with somebody who they’ve trusted in the past, and they’re saying, Look, you know, anecdotally, one credit union shared with us that one of their members, a retiree, came in and said, You know what, I have $100,000 on Coinbase. I have $100,000 with, you know, this other crypto company, I would like to just transfer all of that here, because I can see everything at once and talk to a human and work with somebody I feel I can trust. And so that was an amazing retention story. But then that person had their children come over and, you know, and open up credit union accounts so that they could also just have a place where they felt confident that they could store, they could buy and store their Bitcoin with that credit union and so stories like that really, they really make me happy and hopeful, because I think that demystifying crypto is absolutely critical for the everyday person. This is an opportunity I think that people should comfortably, safely explore, you know, again, not approach it like this really large speculative opportunity, but more thinking about, you know, what their comfort level is and how they can clearly understand and invest in crypto, through partners, credit unions, through services that they trust and that they can understand. I think the idea that you don’t understand crypto, and so I’m not going to get into it, or it’s too volatile. It’s really a disservice to the everyday person. I think that demystifying it, having a face behind the service, having understanding that now it is a regulated asset class, and in about 18 months, I think a lot of these regulations are going to come to fruition for a lot of the financial institutions. That’s the timeline, I think now 16 months. Because I think that was a couple months ago. I think credit unions should be aware that people have gone out the gate running. They’re going to be they are already there. They’re going to be early for when that that regulation is actually going to enable them to flip the switch. And I think that not offering this in what some way, shape or form to their member base, is going to further distance them from what’s going to quickly become a very standard way that people want to use money and build their investments.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Totally see that. And so I always offer my guests of final thoughts as we wrap it up. What do you have to tell our credit union audience? Erica,
Erikka Arone
well, what I’d love to tell you is that credit unions have a special place in our country, where they’ve offered the best rates, you know, wonderful service, Safe Harbor, if you will. Right? And crypto, crypto is going to be a really key service that you an asset class, that you’re going to you’re going to see your members increasingly explore if they, if they’re not already doing so and so by not, you know, take. The take the leap in that, you know, test out different offerings. You know, obviously we’d love for you to talk to sFOX. But Don’t, don’t feel that it’s too, complex, because I do think that there’s many ways to demystify it, and there are many partners who can help you comfortably, safely explore getting up to speed with crypto, as well as offering it. And then the other thing is that i To be frank, and in some of the early days, really distrusted crypto. I’ll, you know, I’ll own up to it. And what I found is that I think that you should encourage that credit union should encourage folks to explore it at their comfort level, and that they should also look at the regulations, the genius Act and the clarity Act, which is also enormously exciting. And you know, and evolve. Evolve with the times.
Don’t be afraid to evolve with the times. But you know, have your list of things that you know, your boundaries, what you know, what’s important to you is it insurance? Do you want to be with a licensed Trust Company? Do you want to work with people who have a long track, track record? Do you like the providers that you’re working with. Meaning, do you believe that they’re answering your questions and providing the white glove service that you deserve? So ask for what you want and also, you know, I’d also say also, in closing, that there’s going to be a lot of volatility. Their mistakes will continue to be made, but I think whole you know, holding the course and looking at the long term outcomes is what’s going to help you weather the storm? No, awesome.
Sarah Snell Cooke
Thank you so much for your time today. Erica, I appreciate it.
Erikka Arone
Thank you, Sarah.