Why is Figure the first RWA stock in the US?

Author: Zhang Feng

On September 11, 2025, Figure Technologies successfully went public on NASDAQ. This company, known as the "first RWA stock," completed its IPO at a price of $25 per share, raising $788 million, and saw a 36% increase on its first day of trading, with a market capitalization exceeding $6.6 billion. A fintech company that has moved loan funding flows onto the blockchain to rewrite financial transactions, it is reconstructing global financial infrastructure with blockchain technology, achieving profitability while opening up a multi-trillion dollar RWA market space.

1. Reconstructing the process, strong growth

Figure was founded in 2018 by SoFi co-founder Mike Cagney, aiming to address pain points in the consumer credit market such as inefficient processes and high costs. Through its self-developed Provenance blockchain platform, Figure has built a complete ecosystem covering lending, trading, and asset tokenization. Its core business is Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), using blockchain technology to shorten the traditional approval process of about 42 days to as fast as 5 minutes for approval and 5 days for disbursement. As of June 2025, Figure has issued over $16 billion in loans, becoming one of the largest non-bank HELOC providers in the United States.

Figure has demonstrated its profitability and growth potential. Revenue for 2023 and 2024 is projected to be $210 million and $341 million, respectively; net profit for 2024 is expected to reach $19.92 million. In the first half of 2025, Figure's revenue is $191 million, a year-on-year increase of 22.4%; net profit is $29.38 million, with a net profit margin reaching 15.4%, significantly higher than the average level of 8%-10% in the fintech industry. Figure's revenue sources mainly include: income from loan sales, loan servicing fees, technology platform fees, and related business of the stablecoin YLDS. This diversified revenue structure provides sustained growth momentum.

2. Embrace Regulation and Focus on Transparency

Figure's core strategy in legal compliance is to proactively embrace regulation, obtain necessary licenses, innovate by adopting a "hybrid rights confirmation" model, and emphasize transparent disclosure. Its main practices can be summarized as follows:

Licenses First, Comprehensive Coverage: Figure understands the strong regulatory nature of financial services, and therefore actively acquires various licenses. It holds over 180 loan issuance and service licenses, 48 money transmission licenses, and possesses SEC-registered brokerage dealer qualifications and alternative trading system (ATS) operating rights. This lays a solid foundation for the compliant conduct of its various businesses.

Respecting the existing legal framework and adopting a "hybrid rights confirmation" model: Figure has a profound understanding that under the current legal environment, on-chain records are difficult to serve as the final legal proof of ownership. Their Provenance blockchain is a permissioned consortium chain, rather than an unpermissioned public chain. They adopt a hybrid model of "on-chain visibility + off-chain rights confirmation"—providing transparent transaction traces on-chain, but the legal final ownership still relies on the official records of traditional transfer agents. This ensures that their operations comply with existing regulatory requirements such as the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Securing Regulatory Approval and Setting Precedents: Figure actively communicates with regulatory agencies to seek approval for key product innovations. Its interest-bearing stablecoin YLDS successfully obtained approval from the U.S. SEC, being recognized as an interest-bearing debt security regulated under the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act. The mortgage-backed securities it issued also received a AAA rating from S&P. These recognitions greatly enhance the compliance and market credibility of its products.

Focus on Auditing and Information Disclosure: As a publicly listed company, Figure's financial data and business operations are subject to rigorous audits. Although the verifiability of its on-chain assets is disputed, the auditing of its publicly reported financial statements provides a certain level of transparency assurance.

Figure addresses compliance issues through a combination strategy of "license protection, model innovation, regulatory cooperation, and information disclosure", cautiously advancing financial innovation within the existing legal framework, striving to achieve a balance between innovation and compliance.

3. Comprehensive Strength, Taking the Lead

After its listing, Figure's stock price rose 24.44% on the first day, with a market capitalization exceeding $6.7 billion. The market cast a vote of confidence with real money. Figure Technologies' ability to become the "first stock for RWA" is mainly attributed to its comprehensive strength in aspects such as technology implementation, business model, compliance first-mover advantage, and market position.

Technology Implementation and Efficiency Improvement. Figure has independently developed the Provenance blockchain, focusing on financial applications. It has shortened the home equity line of credit (HELOC) approval process from an average of 42 days to as fast as 5 minutes for approval and 5 days for funding, cumulatively issuing over $16 billion in loans, significantly improving the efficiency of financial operations and reducing costs.

Innovative Business Model and Profitability: Figure has built a complete ecosystem encompassing lending, trading, and asset tokenization. Its revenue sources are diverse, including sales of loan yields, loan service fees, technology platform fees, and more. The company achieved a net income of $339 million in 2024, with a net profit of $29.38 million in the first half of 2025, demonstrating strong profitability and growth potential.

Compliance First-Mover Advantage and Industry Standard Setting: Figure has a deep commitment to compliance, holding over 180 licenses for loan issuance and services, 48 money transmission licenses, and is qualified as a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. In February 2025, it received SEC approval to issue the world’s first interest-bearing stablecoin YLDS, and the bonds issued were also rated AAA by S&P, all of which are significant compliance milestones in the industry.

Market Dominance and Scarcity: In the RWA private credit tokenization market, Figure holds approximately 75% market share, with locked assets exceeding $11 billion, making it the absolute leader in the field. As the world's first publicly listed company focused on RWA as its core business, it possesses significant scarcity, attracting considerable market attention.

Figure has successfully applied blockchain technology to address the pain points of traditional finance, building a profitable business model along with its outstanding compliance capabilities and market position, making it a benchmark in the RWA field and achieving a successful listing.

4. Path Creation, Industry Foundation

As the world's first publicly listed company with RWA as its core business, Figure has achieved substantial efficiency improvements and cost reductions by applying blockchain technology to loan issuance, asset securitization, and other areas. Its successful listing has opened a path for the entire industry, proving the commercial viability and development potential of RWA tokenization.

The listing of Figure demonstrates the practical application value of blockchain technology in the traditional financial sector, rather than merely being a proof of concept. It also provides experience and a template for similar companies that follow, especially in terms of building compliance frameworks and regulatory communication.

The success of Figure also provides important insights for future similar listed companies, namely that technological innovation must be combined with real demand. Figure did not merely stay at the concept of blockchain, but deeply addressed the actual pain points in traditional finance. The strategy of compliance first is another important insight. By investing heavily in regulatory compliance, Figure has created a legitimate operating space for itself and established standards for the industry. Additionally, Figure demonstrates the importance of ecosystem building, by providing a comprehensive solution from loan issuance to asset securitization, Figure has created network effects, increasing user stickiness and switching costs.