Ben Strack

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forward-guidance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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Figure went public yesterday, and Gemini was set to follow suit today. Somewhat related (you’ll see), we were reminded of how the biggest asset managers could help fuel a tokenization boom.&nbsp;



Let’s hone in on Figure, which just debuted on the Nasdaq. Shares of FIGR opened at $36 on Thursday — 44% above its $25 IPO price. The stock was trading around $33.20 at 1:30 p.m. ET.&nbsp;



Making another appearance in this newsletter (after I cited his <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-stock-digest-sep-2025">COIN vs. HOOD report</a>) is Blockworks Research’s Marc Arjoon. His latest <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/research/figure-ipo">write-up</a> points out a regulatory edge Figure has over certain competitors — 180 lending and servicing licenses, 48 money transmitter licenses and the distinction of being an SEC-registered broker-dealer.



Founded in 2018, Figure focuses on home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and uses the Provenance Blockchain. The company claimed in a recent <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2064124/000162828025040673/ftintermediateinc-sx1.htm">filing</a> to reduce the time it takes to fund a home equity loan to a median of 10 days (compared to the industry median 42 days).&nbsp;



“With over $17B in equity unlocked for homeowners and 40% of HELOC volume transacted on Connect, Figure is the largest non-bank HELOC lender in the US,” Arjoon noted.



The company — with partners like banks, credit unions, fintechs, etc. — dominates the private credit tokenization space:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1082" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107709" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=380 380w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=324 324w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Though HELOCs remain Figure’s main offering, the company <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-registered-yield-bearing-stablecoin">introduced a stablecoin</a> earlier this year and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/figure-raises-60m-launches-dex">looks to diversify</a> even more.&nbsp;



Figure building its presence in the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loans space and expanding into unsecured lending could contribute to its revenue growth in the years ahead, Arjoon predicts.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1600" height="1082" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1024&amp;h=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-107708" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1600 1600w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=380 380w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=386 386w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=324 324w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/image-109.png?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure>



Pantera Capital Partner Ryan Barney said in a Thursday letter that he expects Figure to ultimately cement a spot among a cohort of Web3 public companies comparable to the “Magnificent Seven.”



“The reason is simple: They are proving that blockchain can re-architect the foundation of capital markets, not just disintermediate a few steps,” Barney wrote.



Other candidates for such a group could be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-eyes-everything-exchange-q2">Coinbase</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sp-500-hood-mstr">Robinhood</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/takeaways-circles-first-earnings-call">Circle</a>, Gemini, etc. Time will tell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The BlackRock news we already knew</h2>



On the topic of transforming capital markets, I wanted to at least bring up BlackRock’s tokenization ambitions before we break for the weekend.



A Thursday Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-11/blackrock-seeks-to-tokenize-etfs-after-bitcoin-fund-breakthrough">report</a> (citing anonymous sources) said the world’s largest asset manager is looking into making ETFs available on the blockchain.&nbsp;



No kidding.



The firm declined to comment on specific efforts here. But didn’t you read BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s March investor <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-annual-chairmans-letter">letter</a>? Plenty of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blackrock-fink-bitcoin-dollar">interesting bits</a>, along with the explicit line: “Every stock, every bond, every fund — every asset — can be tokenized. If they are, it will revolutionize investing.”&nbsp;



So of course BlackRock is looking into that — especially with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/buidl-collateral-tokenization">the traction</a> the firm has seen with its tokenized money market fund, BUIDL. Nasdaq, as you read recently, is looking to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tradfi-bid-nasdaq-fidelity">tokenize the securities</a> trading on its exchange.



Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas pointed out that he views this more as modernizing rails than a wholesale pivot that will disrupt the nearly $14 trillion ETF industry.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">We need to define the trend better: If by &#39;tokenization&#39; you mean the back office (plumbing) of TradFi will be slightly more efficient by utilizing blockchain technology? Then sure, fine, probably will but zzzz. What is implied tho by the hype is getting actual investors to sell… <a href="https://t.co/SzXROTB9oi">https://t.co/SzXROTB9oi</a>&mdash; Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricBalchunas/status/1966216300004249739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Fink noted in that letter that identity verification would have to be solved before tokenized funds become as familiar to investors as ETFs. We’ll need patience as we monitor how these efforts evolve.



That’s enough reading for a Friday afternoon. Get on outta here and enjoy your weekend.



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BlackRock

Weighing Figure’s growth potential after Nasdaq debut

Blockchain-focused Figure Technologies has secured $60 million in a bid to build a decentralized competitor to the largest centralized crypto exchanges.&nbsp;



The company also looks to offer an alternative to stablecoins.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Called Figure Markets, the new exchange seeks to use the Provenance blockchain — which Figure <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/figure-technologies-subscribe-to-offer-on-ramp-for-alternative-fund-managers">helped develop</a> — to be a marketplace for a range of securities, including equities, fixed income, alternatives and crypto assets.



Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital and Lightspeed Faction led the $60 million Series A funding round.



Figure CEO Mike Cagney acknowledged that many exchanges have launched without much success in usurping the two titans in the segment.



“Coinbase and Binance have dominated, so we take that with pragmatism as we’re coming into this,” Cagney told Blockworks. “But I think we’re in a situation to do something really differentiated.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Figure Markets is set to use multi-party computation (MPC) wallets to combat single-point-of-failure risks that exist on centralized exchanges — a more poignant concern after the collapse of FTX in November 2022.&nbsp;



The wallet’s private keys are distributed across a decentralized network and require multi-party approval — eliminating the need for a central custodian or clearing agent, Cagney noted.



“The company’s innovative use of MPC technology addresses critical pain points in the current market structure which contributes to creating a more efficient and secure future for digital assets,” Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead said in a statement.&nbsp;



Figure is also working toward having a registered security alternative to stablecoins that would pay a yield, Cagney said.



The startup is looking to create fixed income securities, or “certificates,” that would be transferred through peer-to-peer transactions on the Provenance Blockchain, according to a draft registration statement <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1974395/000113743923001216/fccs1102023.htm">filed</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission in October.



“We’ve been working with the regulators on this and hope that we’re close to being able to launch something that I think provides a significant advantage over USDC,” Cagney said. “That’s sort of icing on the cake in terms of propelling this and building differentiation.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/figure-technologies-subscribe-to-offer-on-ramp-for-alternative-fund-managers">Figure Technologies, Subscribe to Offer On-ramp for Alternative Fund Managers</a>



Lightspeed Faction — a joint venture between Faction with Lightspeed Venture Partners <a href="https://medium.com/lightspeed-venture-partners/22-years-at-lightspeed-building-the-venture-capital-firm-of-the-future-94547b242872">unveiled</a> in 2022 — <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-faction-crypto-fund-raise">raised $285 million for its first venture fund</a> last year to invest in early-stage crypto projects at the infrastructure and protocol level.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Real-world assets moving onto the blockchain marks “the beginning of a seismic shift in financial markets,” Faction co-founder Banafsheh Fathieh said in a Monday statement.&nbsp;



The idea of tokenizing such assets — from real estate to debt securities — has picked up steam in recent months, with large financial institutions such as <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jpmorgan-tokenized-blockchain-portfolio-avalanche">JPMorgan</a> and Citi have done <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/citibank-explores-tokenization-wisdomtree">asset tokenization proofs of concept</a>.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/real-world-assets-tradfi-defi-tokenization">TradFi, DeFi convergence continues through tokenizing real-world assets</a>



Fathieh added: “We believe Figure is at the forefront of this innovation and are thrilled to support them as they build towards the next logical iteration of financial services.”



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DEXs

Figure raises $60M in bid to build a ‘differentiated’ crypto exchange

<div id="highlights-block_618be10ec3a2d" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Partnership will help “accelerate the move to decentralized, instantaneous and bilateral settlement,” Figure CEO Mike Cagney says</li>
 <li>Alliance to offer alternative fund managers an institutional-grade on-ramp</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A fintech company using blockchain technology to empower decentralized finance has partnered with a software solution to allow the institutional market to add digitally native fund offerings alongside their existing product ranges.



<a href="https://www.figure.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Figure Technologies</a> and <a href="https://subscribeplatform.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe</a> are teaming up to launch the Subscribe Passport, a smart subscription platform and universal investor identity that allows private funds to quickly issue digital interests to their limited partners on <a href="https://provenance.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Provenance</a>, the blockchain Figure helped develop <a href="https://docs.provenance.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">based on the Cosmos SDK</a>.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-thumbnail"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/XDFB2H3TGBDR3D5K7WO6KRSIGI.png-150x150.jpeg" alt="Mike Cagney, Figure Technologies" class="wp-image-10916"/><figcaption>Mike Cagney, Figure Technologies</figcaption></figure></div>



The technology is designed for use across multiple asset classes and markets. The company was founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, who also founded SoFi and served as its CEO. 



Subscribe’s electronic subscription document technology is used by more than 5,000 institutional investors, 1,200 fund managers, and over 300 service providers, according to the firm, such as fund formation law firms, fund administrators and asset custodians.



Subscribe’s universal investor profile can be used to fill out any subscription agreement globally with the press of a button. The Subscribe Passport will allow investors to use that profile in the context of digitally native funds to transact from a digital wallet in a regulatory-compliant fashion.&nbsp;



Figure’s alliance with Subscribe is about enabling the institutional market to add digitally native fund offerings alongside their existing product ranges, Figure CEO Mike Cagney told Blockworks. As part of the partnership, Figure will make a strategic investment in the company.



The private funds industry has only recently begun to move from analog to digital, he noted, adding that the shift has improved the investor experience and expanded access.



“We want to accelerate the move to decentralized, instantaneous and bilateral settlement of these historically heavily intermediated assets,” Cagney said.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Truly digitally native funds will enable new ways for investors to interact with these assets, including bilateral secondary trading and new forms of collateral management.”</blockquote>



In addition to continuing its lending services, Cagney said, Figure recently helped New York Community Bank (NYCB) launch USDForward (USDF), which they call a digital marker. Like a centralized stablecoin such as Gemini’s GUSD, USDF represents bank deposit liabilities; but unlike other stablecoins, it is only transferable between wallets that undergo “a strict, bank-endorsed KYC/AML review process.” The intention is that it be used solely to support marketplace transactions on Provenance, so it will not interoperate with the broader Cosmos ecosystem through <a href="https://docs.cosmos.network/master/ibc/overview.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IBC</a>.



Provenance is an example of how blockchain technology can disrupt financial services, Subscribe CEO Rafay Farooqui said in a statement.



&#8220;While most firms are stuck in the exploratory phase, the blockchain-based infrastructure behind DeFi is maturing at an accelerating rate,” he noted. “Together, Subscribe and Figure are moving the ball forward for the largest alternative fund managers with our institutional-grade on ramp to the future of financial services.”



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