SoFi CEO says he owns bitcoin and ether — and warns that companies who don't take advantage of crypto will be 'left behind'

"If you don't innovate and you don't use cryptocurrency as a technology platform, you'll get left behind," he told CNBC. "You'll be less competitive."

• SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said he and his family own some cryptocurrency. 
• "We own bitcoin, we own ethereum, we own some of the more obscure and different cryptocurrencies," Noto told CNBC.
• He also warned companies that don't recognize the benefits of blockchain may get "left behind."

SoFi Technologies CEO Anthony Noto talked about the inherent risks of holding cryptocurrencies — before revealing his family holds some digital assets. 

"We're invested in cryptocurrency," Noto told CNBC. "We own bitcoin, we own ethereum, we own some of the more obscure and different cryptocurrencies, but it's a very small part of what we own."

This statement came after CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the executive outside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles where the Super Bowl LVI was held on what he thought of the big game, which many described as the "Crypto Bowl" due to major crypto companies from Coinbase to FTX pouring in millions of dollars to claim advertising spots. 

"When you buy cryptocurrency on SoFi, every time we give you a warning: It's an unproven asset, highly volatile ... That's the truth," he told CNBC. "But it's an incredible technology platform. It's an opportunity to invest in something that's high risk."  

The executive cautioned companies that don't recognize the advances of blockchain technology immediately that they risk their competitive advantage. 

"If you don't innovate, and you don't use cryptocurrency as a technology platform, you'll get left behind," he told CNBC. "Your business will be smaller. You'll be less competitive. You will have less innovation and less of a value proposition for consumers." 

Noto, the former Twitter COO who took the helm of SoFi in 2018, said his personal finance firm is seeing the benefits of its naming rights for the Rams' home stadium. SoFi paid hundreds of millions of dollars in 2019 for the naming rights for the next two decades.

SoFi currently offers trading in 30 crypto coins.