SoFi founder Mike Cagney’s Figure Technologies has announced the launch of Figure Markets, signaling the advent of the first “everything marketplace.” This initiative promises a seamless trading experience across a diverse array of blockchain-native assets, ranging from cryptocurrencies and stocks to alternative investments. With over $60 million in Series A funding, led by notable names such as Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, and Lightspeed Faction, Figure Markets aims to challenge the conventional marketplaces.
This funding round, characterized by its oversubscription, underlines the market’s appetite for innovative financial solutions. The inclusion of industry stalwarts like Dan Morehead, Founder and Managing Partner of Pantera Capital, on the Figure Markets board of directors, further augments the project’s credibility and ambition.
In 2018, Mike Cagney and his wife, June Ou, co-founded the fintech startup Figure Technologies, a company that specializes in the creation and packaging of financial assets. By 2019, Figure Technologies had successfully raised over $225 million in funding and achieved a valuation of $1.2 billion. Entering 2020, the company had funded loans totaling more than $1 billion and began offering securitizations backed by Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs), including the issuance of the largest bond backed by a HELOC in more than a decade. In a significant development in August 2021, Figure Technologies announced its intention to merge with the mortgage lender Homebridge Financial Services, marking a pivotal step in its expansion and influence within the financial sector.
According to Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Markets, this financial infusion is a testament to their vision of utilizing blockchain technology to overhaul capital markets.
“Figure Technologies is capturing real benefits by employing blockchain in its lending and capital markets operations. It’s ironic that the largest crypto exchanges aren’t on blockchain–we aim to change that,” states Figure Markets CEO, Mike Cagney.
Figure Technologies is not new to the blockchain arena. Its leveraging of blockchain for lending and capital market operations has already demonstrated tangible benefits. Now, it aims to broaden this technology’s application to encompass a wider asset spectrum. In an industry where the most significant crypto exchanges operate off-blockchain, Figure Markets intends to introduce a paradigm shift.
A notable innovation at the heart of Figure Markets is the introduction of a new decentralized custody crypto exchange and a blockchain-native security marketplace, underpinned by Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology. This technology addresses the Achilles’ heel of centralized exchanges — the risk of a single-point-of-failure. By distributing private keys across a decentralized network, MPC technology not only enhances security but also ensures users maintain control over their assets, thereby reducing counterparty risk.
Figure Markets, under the guidance of Cagney and June Ou, aims to capitalize on its blockchain and financial products expertise. It plans to develop both onshore and offshore decentralized marketplaces for crypto and securities, leveraging the Provenance Blockchain.
With over $30 billion USD in real-world assets already recorded on Provenance Blockchain, Figure Markets’ choice of technology foundation appears solid.
The marketplace envisaged by Figure Markets is not limited to trading. It aims to offer a suite of financial services, including lending and borrowing options, across a variety of asset classes. This integrated platform seeks to provide liquidity, flexibility, and efficiency for investors, challenging traditional market structures.
Industry leaders have lauded Figure Markets’ innovative use of MPC technology and its potential to create a secure, efficient future for digital assets. The belief in blockchain as the driver of the next financial innovation wave is strong among Figure Markets’ backers, with the initiative seen as a pioneer in bringing real-world assets onto the blockchain.
As Figure Markets steps forward with its vision of an “everything marketplace,” it stands at the cusp of possibly initiating a seismic shift in financial markets. The venture’s success could not only validate blockchain’s utility in transforming financial services but also establish a new standard for how assets are traded, managed, and conceptualized in the digital age.
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