Figure is proposing a second IPO to sell blockchain-native shares on Solana. This will let people trade and use DeFi in ways that go beyond traditional stock exchanges.
Figure Technology, a blockchain-based financial services firm that focuses on tokenised assets and lending, has filed for a second public offering. This offering aims to enable anyone to directly purchase native shares on a public blockchain. This move follows the company’s recent Nasdaq offering and aims to expand the number of decentralised finance (DeFi) use cases on Solana.
Mike Cagney, the executive chairman of Figure, spoke at the Solana Breakpoint conference and said that the business has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch what he called “a new version of Figure equity on a public blockchain,” namely Solana.
Cagney clarified that regular exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq would not trade blockchain-native equity. It would also not depend on introducing brokers like Robinhood or prime brokers like Goldman Sachs.
Equity on Solana and DeFi integration
Securities would be issued and sold on Figure’s alternative trading system, which he called “effectively a decentralised exchange.”
Cagney added that if equity was issued directly to Solana, investors could take the tokenised asset into DeFi protocols, where they could borrow or lend it.
He went on to say that the company’s main goal is more than just tokenising its own shares. It also wants to help other companies issue native equity directly within the Solana ecosystem:
“One of our main goals is to not only bring that equity to the Solana ecosystem, but also to make it possible for native Solana equity issuance.”
Solana emerging as a hub for tokenised assets
Solana is becoming more of a hub for tokenised assets. Its proportion of the real-world asset (RWA) market has been growing gradually over the past year. It is already one of the most active public blockchains.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, says that Ethereum is still the most popular network for tokenisation, but Solana is expected to become the financial industry’s preferred network for stablecoins and tokenised assets over time.
As Wall Street looks at the long-term viability of tokenised assets, the focus is likely to shift to blockchains that offer high speed, high throughput, and quick transactional finality. Solana has an edge over many other networks in these areas, according to Hougan.
RedStone’s research found that Solana is a “high-performance challenger” in the RWA area, especially in tokenised US Treasury markets.