Written by: kkk
On August 5, the US crypto capital market welcomed a special 'new face'—Figure Technology Solutions (FTS). This fintech company, founded by SoFi co-founder and former CEO Mike Cagney, has officially initiated the IPO process by submitting its S-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Unlike traditional financial institutions that follow the rules, Figure has built itself on blockchain from the beginning, reshaping the financial paradigm of mortgages and crypto collateral loans.
Mike Cagney, who once led SoFi to stir up a wave in the internet finance sector, now wants to once again disrupt the business model that traditional banks rely on using blockchain. He stated, 'The funding validates our vision of redefining capital markets using blockchain technology, and we are also reaping real benefits by adopting blockchain in our lending and capital markets businesses.'
Entering through mortgages: The largest non-bank HELOC provider in the United States
In the mortgage market, Figure has directly struck at the soft underbelly of traditional banks with speed and transparency. In the past, applying for a HELOC loan could take weeks or even months, while on Figure's platform, users only need to apply online 100%, with approval in as fast as 5 minutes and disbursement within 5 days.
As of now, Figure has helped over 200,000 households unlock $16 billion in home equity, rising to one of the largest non-bank HELOC providers in the United States. What’s more intriguing is that all of this has not been achieved by 'simplifying the review' for speed, but rather thanks to Figure's self-developed Provenance blockchain. This is a public, PoS blockchain based on the Cosmos SDK, supporting instant finality, and once confirmed, it cannot be rolled back, ensuring the security and transparency of loan settlements.
Provenance not only establishes standardized, tamper-proof on-chain records for each loan but also directly connects to Figure's own Figure Connect—a native on-chain private capital market platform. Through it, loan initiators and investors can complete matching, pricing, and settlement on-chain, compressing the entire process from traditional months to just days, almost redefining the flow efficiency of private credit.
Crypto collateral loans: Achieving both HODL and liquidity
If HELOC has allowed Figure to establish a foothold in the traditional mortgage field, then crypto collateral loans are its way of making a mark in the digital asset arena.
In this business, customers can use Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) as collateral, borrowing cash at a maximum of 75% LTV (loan-to-value ratio), with interest rates as low as 8.91% (50% LTV), and no credit score required.
All collateral assets will be stored in decentralized, isolated multi-party computation (MPC) custodial wallets, allowing clients to directly view on-chain addresses to ensure funds are never misappropriated. This means that even if you are using BTC or ETH as collateral for a loan, you can safely continue to 'hold for appreciation', while the cash on hand can be used to pay off debts, buy homes, renovate, or even directly increase your holdings of more crypto assets.
This design is particularly popular in bull markets—investors can release liquidity without having to sell at a loss while retaining the potential for asset appreciation; in bear markets, they can obtain emergency funds through collateral, avoiding forced liquidations.
Actively integrating into the crypto space: RWA and stablecoin dual drive
Figure's ambition goes far beyond mortgages and crypto loans. Leveraging the underlying technology of the Provenance blockchain, in a tokenized private credit market totaling $27.74 billion, Figure has cumulatively issued loans amounting to $13 billion, with active loan amounts reaching $11 billion and a utilization rate exceeding 84%. On the rwa.xyz website, Figure holds a steady first place in the private credit category. Whether it’s mortgage assets or private credit, Figure can digitize, program, and achieve standardized issuance and trading on-chain. These on-chain assets are inherently compatible with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, allowing funds that were once locked in traditional financial systems to circulate, be collateralized, and reused globally, completely blurring the lines between TradFi and DeFi.
Meanwhile, the YLDS stablecoin launched by Figure Markets has become the world's first interest-bearing stablecoin approved by the SEC, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, and calculates interest based on SOFR-50bp, with an annual yield of about 3.79%. YLDS not only has impeccable compliance but also provides users with stable returns, applicable in various scenarios such as payments, cross-border settlements, and collateral financing. This combination of 'RWA + stablecoin' not only locks in dual increments for Figure in the real asset and digital asset markets but also positions it at the gateway to the next multi-trillion-dollar market.
Capital layout and IPO preparation
In just a few years, Figure has completed multiple rounds of financing, with investors including well-known institutions such as DCM Ventures, DST Global, Ribbit Capital, and Morgan Creek Digital, and has also secured billions of dollars in debt credit from firms like Jefferies and JPMorgan. According to market news, the underwriting lineup for this IPO has also featured top Wall Street investment banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
Prior to this, Figure had restructured its internal architecture, incorporating the lending entity Figure Lending LLC into the Figure Technology Solutions brand system, and has introduced a senior management team with rich regulatory and corporate governance experience to pave the way for its IPO.
Summary
2025 may be remembered as the year of crypto stocks. From the emergence of various 'shanzhai versions of micro-strategies' to the crazy myth of CRCL creating a 10-fold return a month after its IPO, and the top crypto firms like Kraken gearing up, the fusion of capital markets and on-chain markets is entering deep waters.
Now, everyone is waiting for the true RWA whale—an entity that can bring trillion-dollar real assets onto the chain and redefine the market landscape like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Figure is racing toward this position at full speed, and its next step may be part of history.
