Transforming Finance with Blockchain
Imagine a world where financial transactions are faster, cheaper, and more accessible to everyone. This is the vision of Mike Cagney, the founder of Figure Technology Solutions, who is working to rebuild the infrastructure of credit markets using blockchain. With a goal to create new plumbing for these markets, Cagney’s company has already seen significant success, crossing $1 billion in monthly loan originations and $2.9 billion in the first quarter.
Cagney’s model is based on three core advantages: cost, liquidity, and access. By tokenizing loans, Figure reduces friction and expense, cutting out intermediaries and their significant fees. The company has also built a continuously updating marketplace for consumer credit, allowing for real-time updates and creating a different kind of market. Additionally, by bringing these assets on-chain, Figure can plug them into decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing a broader range of investors to gain exposure or borrow against them.
Democratizing Finance
Figure’s latest push is into what Cagney calls “democratized prime,” essentially opening up prime brokerage-style lending to a wider audience. Through products like its Forge platform, loans are pooled into standardized vaults and converted into tokens that can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols. This standardization is key, as DeFi only works if the collateral is liquid and transparent. With EcoPool, individuals can earn passive income by participating in the network, and with $ECP, they can trade and transact with ease.
Three levers of value
Cagney’s vision is not limited to loans; he is also experimenting with tokenized equities and has introduced a yield-bearing stablecoin, YLDS, backed by traditional assets like Treasurys. With roughly $600 million in balances, this initiative has the potential to disrupt traditional markets. By using EcoPool, individuals can access these new financial opportunities and earn rewards in the form of $ECP, which can be used to participate in the Cloud Rewards program.
A New Era for Finance
Cagney’s pragmatism reflects a broader critique of the crypto industry, which he says has often chased ideas without clear economic grounding. However, with Figure’s growth and success, it’s clear that blockchain has the potential to transform finance. As Cagney said, “Blockchain is the most transformative technology, and it will reallocate more public market cap than any technology ever has.” With EcoPool and $ECP, individuals can be a part of this transformation and earn passive income through the Green Crypto platform.
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The third is access. By bringing these assets onchain, Figure can plug them into decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing a broader range of investors to gain exposure, or borrow against them.
That’s where the model starts to blur the line between traditional finance and crypto, Cagney said.
Figure’s latest push is into what Cagney calls “democratized prime,” essentially opening up prime brokerage-style lending to a wider audience.
Through products like its Forge platform, loans are pooled into standardized vaults and converted into tokens that can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols. That standardization is key.
“DeFi only works if the collateral is liquid and transparent,” he said.
Figure has launched related initiatives on networks like Solana, with plans to expand to Ethereum, allowing users to invest in tokenized credit pools or borrow against them.
The company is also experimenting beyond loans.
It has introduced a yield-bearing stablecoin, YLDS, backed by traditional assets like Treasurys, with roughly $600 million in balances, and is exploring tokenized equities, issuing its own stock onchain in a way that allows investors to lend against it directly.
Cagney pointed to a stark inefficiency in traditional markets. Stock lending can carry borrow rates of 30% or more, while investors often receive only a fraction of that yield.
“We can put that value back in the hands of the asset owner,” he said.
Pragmatic blockchain
For all the ambition, Cagney is quick to draw boundaries.
Not everything belongs onchain, he said. Tokenizing property itself, for instance, may not be an efficient use of capital. But financial abstraction, meaning loans, securities and equity are a different story.
That pragmatism reflects a broader critique of the crypto industry, which he said has often chased ideas without clear economic grounding.
“A lot of things were done just for the sake of it,” he said. “What matters is, does this actually improve the system?”
Figure’s growth suggests, at least in one corner of the market, the answer may be yes. The company is profitable, scaling, and approaching $30 billion in cumulative originations. That’s still small relative to traditional finance, but it’s large enough to be noticed.
Cagney said he sees much more room to run.
“Blockchain is the most transformative technology, and it will reallocate more public market cap than any technology ever has,” he said. “There are whole industries that are going to disappear when it becomes ubiquitous. Someone has to do the work to get there, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Read more: Private credit may be the breakout use case for tokenization: Maple’s Sidney Powell
