Figure CEO Mike Cagney Says Blockchain Will Reconstruct Wall Street’s Credit Pipeline

Figure Technology Solutions CEO Mike Cagney says blockchain will reconstruct Wall Street’s “financial pipeline,” and he frames the company’s effort as a bid to rebuild credit-market infrastructure while deeply integrating real-world assets (RWA), securitization, and DeFi.

“Mike Cagney’s second act: Turning blockchain into Wall Street’s new plumbing Figure’s $1 billion month capped a years-long push to strip out middlemen from credit markets, bringing real-world assets, lending and even equities onchain”

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In a CoinDesk report, Figure’s loan issuance in March exceeded $1 billion for the first time in a single month, and the firm’s total lending volume reached $2.9 billion in the first quarter, which the article says annualizes to about $12 billion.

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CoinDesk also reports that Cagney told the outlet that the goal is to build “a marketplace where credit can move efficiently, without all the traditional layers,” positioning blockchain as “new plumbing” for credit markets.

The same CoinDesk coverage says Figure’s model is designed to strip out middlemen from credit markets by bringing real-world assets, lending, and even equities onchain.

WEEX echoes the same thrust, saying Cagney is trying to leverage blockchain to reconstruct the traditional credit market infrastructure and reduce intermediaries through on-chain processes.

WEEX adds that Figure has launched the yield-bearing stablecoin YLDS and has launched on-chain credit vault products on networks like Solana, enabling users to invest in tokenized credit assets or use them as collateral for borrowing.

The CoinDesk article further states that Figure is approaching $30 billion in cumulative originations, describing the scale as “large enough to be noticed.”

CoinDesk reports that Cagney broke Figure’s model into three core advantages: cost, liquidity, and access, each tied to how loans and other assets are tokenized.

On cost, CoinDesk says tokenizing loans reduces the friction and expense of securitization by cutting out intermediaries that “have historically taken significant fees.”

CoinDesk

On liquidity, CoinDesk says Figure has built what it describes as “one of the only continuously updating marketplaces for consumer credit outside of government-backed mortgage systems like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” and it quotes Cagney saying, “The loans update in real time, which creates a different kind of market.”

On access, CoinDesk says bringing these assets onchain lets Figure plug them into decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing a broader range of investors to gain exposure or borrow against them.

CoinDesk adds that Figure’s push includes what Cagney calls “democratized prime,” which CoinDesk describes as opening up prime brokerage-style lending to a wider audience.

Through products like its Forge platform, CoinDesk says loans are pooled into standardized vaults and converted into tokens that can be used as collateral in DeFi protocols, and it quotes Cagney: “DeFi only works if the collateral is liquid and transparent.”

The CoinDesk article says Figure has launched related initiatives on networks like Solana, with plans to expand to Ethereum, and it describes the use cases as investing in tokenized credit pools or borrowing against them.

WEEX similarly states that Figure has launched on-chain credit vault products on networks like Solana and that the company plans to expand into the Ethereum ecosystem, while also exploring stock tokenization and on-chain securities lending.

In the same CoinDesk coverage, Cagney is quoted pointing to an inefficiency in traditional markets, saying stock lending can carry borrow rates of 30% or more while investors often receive only a fraction of that yield, and he says, “We can put that value back in the hands of the asset owner.”

Beyond credit vaults, CoinDesk says Figure has introduced a yield-bearing stablecoin, YLDS, backed by traditional assets like Treasurys, and it reports “roughly $600 million in balances.”

“Figure CEO: Blockchain will reconstruct Wall Street's "financial pipeline," and traditional intermediaries may be massively replaced According to CoinDesk, Figure Technology Solutions CEO Mike Cagney stated that the company is trying to leverage blockchain to reconstruct the traditional credit market infrastructure and deeply integrate real-world assets (RWA), securitization, and DeFi”

WEEX

CoinDesk also says Figure is exploring tokenized equities, including issuing its own stock onchain in a way that allows investors to lend against it directly.

WEEX likewise states that Figure has launched the yield-bearing stablecoin YLDS and that it has launched on-chain credit vault products on networks like Solana.

At the same time, CoinDesk reports that Cagney draws boundaries about what belongs onchain, saying, “Not everything belongs onchain,” and it adds that tokenizing property itself “may not be an efficient use of capital.”

CoinDesk frames this as a broader critique of the crypto industry, quoting Cagney saying, “A lot of things were done just for the sake of it,” and then adding, “What matters is, does this actually improve the system?”

WEEX similarly emphasizes that Cagney believes blockchain’s true value is not “putting everything on-chain,” but reconstructing the financial abstraction layer.

In WEEX’s account, Cagney says, “Financial assets such as loans, securities, and equity are naturally suited for on-chain processes, and the entire financial infrastructure may be rewritten as a result.”

CoinDesk also reports that Figure is profitable and scaling, and it says the company is approaching $30 billion in cumulative originations.

Finally, CoinDesk quotes Cagney on the scale of blockchain’s impact, saying, “Blockchain is the most transformative technology, and it will reallocate more public market cap than any technology ever has,” and it adds, “There are whole industries that are going to disappear when it becomes ubiquitous.”

CoinDesk’s coverage of Figure’s push also points to stress in the broader DeFi credit environment, tying the company’s ambitions to ongoing concerns about risk and security.

In the “More For You” material appended to the CoinDesk article, the outlet says “the year’s biggest crypto hack and DeFi crisis is forcing a rethink of risk, security and market structure,” and it frames this as coming from “industry insiders.”

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That same CoinDesk text says “A $292 million exploit of Kelp DAO rattled crypto lending markets” and it adds that industry insiders see it as “a temporary setback rather than a fundamental barrier to institutional adoption of DeFi.”

The CoinDesk excerpt also says “Wall Street firms including Apollo Global” are part of the broader context, though the provided text cuts off before detailing what those firms are doing.

WEEX does not discuss Kelp DAO or the $292 million exploit, but it does describe Figure’s approach as reducing intermediaries and lowering costs while enhancing liquidity through on-chain processes.

CoinDesk’s Figure narrative similarly emphasizes that DeFi depends on collateral that is “liquid and transparent,” which is presented as a requirement for the model to function.

Taken together within the CoinDesk material, the push for tokenized credit and on-chain collateral is paired with the reminder that large exploits can rattle crypto lending markets.

The CoinDesk article’s inclusion of the Kelp DAO figure and the characterization of the exploit as temporary underscores that the market’s infrastructure is still being tested.

Even as Figure expands across networks like Solana and plans to expand to Ethereum, CoinDesk’s appended context keeps the focus on how security incidents shape institutional comfort with DeFi.

Figure’s roadmap in the sources centers on expanding tokenized credit and related products across additional blockchain ecosystems while also exploring adjacent financial instruments.

“Mike Cagney’s second act: Turning blockchain into Wall Street’s new plumbing Figure’s $1 billion month capped a years-long push to strip out middlemen from credit markets, bringing real-world assets, lending and even equities onchain”

CoinDesk

WEEX says Cagney’s company plans to expand into the Ethereum ecosystem and explore stock tokenization and on-chain securities lending, framing these as extensions of the on-chain financial abstraction layer.

CoinDesk

CoinDesk says Figure has launched related initiatives on networks like Solana, with plans to expand to Ethereum, and it describes users investing in tokenized credit pools or borrowing against them.

CoinDesk also describes Figure’s “democratized prime” approach through Forge platform vaults and tokens that can serve as collateral in DeFi protocols, and it quotes Cagney saying, “DeFi only works if the collateral is liquid and transparent.”

In the same CoinDesk coverage, Cagney says he is using blockchain to cut intermediaries across securitization, lending and stock borrowing, and he ties the effort to rebuilding infrastructure rather than simply “putting everything on-chain.”

CoinDesk reports that Figure has launched a yield-bearing stablecoin, YLDS, backed by traditional assets like Treasurys, and it gives “roughly $600 million in balances,” while also exploring tokenized equities and issuing its own stock onchain.

WEEX similarly says Figure has launched YLDS and on-chain credit vault products on networks like Solana, and it adds that the company is deeply integrating real-world assets (RWA), securitization, and DeFi.

CoinDesk’s narrative also says the company is profitable, scaling, and approaching $30 billion in cumulative originations, and it quotes Cagney saying blockchain will “reallocate more public market cap than any technology ever has.”

The sources therefore depict a forward-looking strategy that combines measurable growth—like March’s $1 billion loan originations and the $2.9 billion first quarter—with product expansion into Ethereum and broader tokenized finance.