Expanding access to credit remains a significant challenge in consumer finance. Legacy systems hinder approvals, increase costs, and restrict access to capital. Figure Technology Solutions, in its recent public filing to offer approximately 26.3 million shares, is positioning itself as an innovator by modernizing the consumer lending process through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain into loan origination, underwriting, and secondary market trading.
Founded in 2018, Figure began its journey in the home equity lending sector but has evolved into a company that self-identifies as a vertically integrated lender linking origination, marketplace distribution, and capital markets execution. The firm’s S-1 filing outlines its ambition to broaden its offerings from solely home equity loans to a wider variety of credit products while creating marketplaces for digital assets and stablecoins. Management asserts that leveraging AI-driven automation alongside blockchain transparency could enhance efficiency in lending markets and facilitate faster, more accessible credit.
The company highlights a fragmented capital markets infrastructure that still relies on outdated systems, leading to inefficiencies in loan approvals and transaction processing. The filing states, “This creates process and cost inefficiencies in serving consumer credit markets and limits the development of alternative marketplaces.” The manual elements tied to asset ownership and transfer records contribute to liquidity constraints, elevated costs, and errors.
Built on the Provenance blockchain, Figure claims its platform provides a “record of truth” for assets. Every loan originated through this system is logged on the blockchain, creating an immutable record of ownership and performance. By coupling this approach with automated valuation models, AI-powered underwriting, and smart contracts to govern loan sales and transfers, Figure has managed to significantly reduce approval times for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to a median of just 10 days, well below the industry average of 42 days. Additionally, loan applications can be completed in a mere five minutes, with funding available in as little as five days.
The company’s addressable market across lending and capital markets is estimated at around $185 billion in annual revenue potential, founded on consumer credit originations and marketplace trading. Beyond lending, management is also eyeing the potential in tokenization and stablecoins. External forecasts referenced in the filing predict that the asset tokenization market could rocket to $16 trillion by 2030, with the stablecoin market nearing $5 trillion during the same timeframe.
According to the filing, Figure has reported profitability and achieved growth in a capital-efficient manner. Its revenue model is based on fees from loan originations, servicing, gains from loan sales, and fees for technology usage. Notably, 77% of total originations come from partner-branded lending, where banks and mortgage originators utilize Figure’s platform under their own branding. As of mid-2025, Figure had 168 active partnerships.
In an effort to bolster its ambitions, the company has constructed a robust regulatory infrastructure. Figure holds over 180 lending and servicing licenses, 48 money transmitter licenses, and has SEC registration as a broker-dealer with the authority to operate an alternative trading system. It has also secured crypto licenses in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands and Ireland, which management argues sets it apart from competitors and will facilitate the scaling of new products.
For the 12 months ending June 30, 2025, Figure reported facilitating approximately $6 billion in HELOC lending, marking a 29% increase from the previous year. Additionally, its new Figure Connect Marketplace, launched in June 2024, processed $1.3 billion in loan volume in its first year, onboarding 27 participants by mid-2025. Financial performance showed marked improvement, with net revenue for the six months ending June 30, 2025, rising to $191 million from $156 million the year before. Net income had risen to $29 million, a significant turnaround from a $13 million loss a year prior. The company’s adjusted EBITDA hit $83 million, more than double the prior year’s figure.
While HELOCs currently account for 99% of originations, Figure is exploring additional product offerings, such as debt service coverage ratio loans, digital asset-backed loans, and potential expansion into personal, auto, and student loans.
Looking ahead, the company plans to utilize IPO proceeds to invest in product development, grow its loan marketplace, and enhance initiatives like Democratized Prime, a funding marketplace, Figure Exchange, a regulated trading platform, and YLDS, a yield-bearing stablecoin registered with the SEC.
Nevertheless, the filing does acknowledge potential challenges and risks that might impede adoption. The reliance on AI for credit decisions raises fair lending compliance considerations, and while automation minimizes errors, regulators are vigilant regarding the implications of algorithm-driven underwriting across various credit tiers. Additionally, despite the growing interest in tokenization, less than 1% of real-world assets are currently recorded on blockchains. The expected revenues from new products like Democratized Prime and YLDS stablecoin have yet to materialize significantly.
Despite potential market opportunities, home equity lending remains the company’s core business, which is cyclical and heavily tied to housing markets and interest rates. A downturn in mortgage activity or rising consumer credit costs may adversely impact origination volumes and overall revenue growth.
