Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. (“Figure”) Overview
For years, institutional investors have enjoyed access to premium yields and lending opportunities that remain largely out of reach for everyday crypto holders. While major financial institutions earn steady returns through sophisticated lending programs, retail investors are often left with limited options, centralized platforms with opaque terms, or yields that pale in comparison to what the institutions receive.
That’s where Figure comes in. Figure is a financial technology company that’s building a bridge between traditional capital markets and crypto-native infrastructure. By bringing real-world assets, lending, and credit on-chain, Figure is democratizing access to the same financial products that were once exclusive to institutions. Through innovative products like Democratized Prime and Crypto-Backed Loans, Figure enables transparent, efficient, and programmable financial services that put retail users on equal footing with Wall Street.
The Problem with Traditional Lending
For decades, banks have acted as intermediaries in the lending system, capturing most of the economic value in every transaction. When you deposit money in a savings account earning 2% interest, the bank might lend that same money out at 8%, pocketing a 6% spread to cover their overhead, branch networks, and profit margins. This system works, but it’s far from optimal for lenders and borrowers.
On the borrowing side, accessing credit often means navigating bureaucratic approval processes, dealing with fees, and accepting terms dictated by institutions with significant information advantages. Want a mortgage? Prepare for weeks of paperwork, credit checks, appraisals, and fees that add up quickly. The process is slow, expensive, and designed primarily around the bank’s convenience rather than yours.
For savers and lenders, the situation is equally frustrating. The premium yields that institutional investors access through private lending arrangements and wholesale markets remain largely unavailable to retail participants. If you want to earn meaningful returns by lending capital, you typically need significant minimums, institutional relationships, or accreditation status that excludes the vast majority of people.
The real problem isn’t that traditional lending doesn’t work; it’s that it works inefficiently and inequitably, with intermediaries capturing value that should flow to the people actually providing and using the capital. This is precisely where Figure comes in.
Understanding Real-World Assets in Crypto
Before diving into Figure’s products, it’s essential to understand the concept of Real-World Assets, or RWAs. In the simplest terms, RWAs are traditional financial assets from the real world that have been tokenized and brought onto the blockchain. These can include mortgages, home equity lines of credit, corporate debt, treasury bills, or any other asset that represents real economic value outside of the crypto ecosystem.
A Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC, is one of the most common types of RWAs that Figure works with. A HELOC is a loan secured by the equity in a homeowner’s property. For example, if you own a home worth $500,000 and have paid off $200,000 of your mortgage, you might be able to borrow against a portion of that $200,000 in equity through a HELOC.
Tokenization is the process of representing these real-world financial instruments as digital tokens on a blockchain. When Figure tokenizes a HELOC or mortgage, they’re creating a digital representation of that loan that can be transparently tracked, verified, and traded on-chain. This brings several advantages: immutable record-keeping, real-time visibility into collateral status, programmable terms that execute automatically, and the ability to package these assets and make them accessible to smaller investors.
With this, crypto holders can directly participate in funding real-world economic activity, earning yields that are backed by tangible assets rather than speculative trading activity. Meanwhile, traditional borrowers can access capital from a global pool of lenders rather than being limited to their local bank’s balance sheet.
Crypto capital can flow into real-world lending opportunities, while borrowers can benefit from the efficiency and transparency of decentralized finance. It’s a genuine win-win that expands the utility of both ecosystems.
Democratized Prime: Earn Like an Institution
Figure’s Democratized Prime is a platform that brings institutional-grade lending opportunities to everyone. It’s a decentralized lending marketplace that opens up opportunities previously reserved for banks and hedge funds by enabling participants to earn yields by directly lending crypto to borrowers backed by transparent, on-chain collateral.
Here are some key features of Democratized Prime:
Yield Potential
Lenders can earn up to approximately 8.5% APY, with interest paid out hourly. This isn’t annual compounding where you wait twelve months to see returns; your earnings accrue in real-time, giving you immediate feedback on your investment performance. The hourly payment structure also means your returns compound more frequently, leading to higher effective yields over time.
Direct Lending
This yield is possible through the direct lending model. Rather than depositing funds into a platform that acts as an intermediary, you’re lending directly to borrowers through smart contracts. The platform facilitates the connection and handles the infrastructure, but the economic relationship is peer-to-peer. This direct relationship means more of the yield flows to you rather than being captured by intermediaries.
Transparency
All collateral backing these loans is visible on-chain, meaning you can verify exactly what assets secure your lending position at any time. You can see the loan-to-value ratios, the specific assets used as collateral, and the real-time status of each loan.
Flex Rate Loans
Flex Rate is designed to provide high levels of flexibility for borrowers who want to access liquidity without being tied to traditional fixed loan terms. It features variable interest rates that are adjusted hourly based on live market demand within the Democratized Prime lending pools, without specific loan durations as you only pay interest for the time you are actually borrowing the funds. Also, Flex Rate allows you to borrow against the entire value of your Figure Markets portfolio.
The HELOC+ Pool: A Practical Example
Suppose you have $10,000 in stablecoins or crypto that you’d like to put to work earning yield. You can lend these funds into a HELOC pool on Democratized Prime and at the top of the hour begin earning interest of up to approximately 8.5% annually, paid hourly.
These borrowers might be renovating their homes, consolidating debt, or funding business ventures. The key is that their loans are secured by real property, and that home-equity collateral is tokenized and tracked on-chain. You can see exactly how much equity backs the loans you’re funding.
On the other side of this transaction is a homeowner who wants to take out a HELOC. Their loan is funded by you and other lenders in the pool, creating a decentralized system that removes traditional banks from the equation.
The Peer-to-Peer Revolution
Democratized Prime is enabling everyday people to do business directly with each other. The traditional bank, with its large spread between deposit rates and lending rates, is cut out of the process.
Banks traditionally capture the lion’s share of the economic value in lending transactions. They might pay depositors 2% while charging borrowers 8%, pocketing the 6% spread. In the Democratized Prime model, lenders can capture rates closer to what borrowers pay because the platform creates lending and borrowing overhead that is significantly lower than a traditional bank’s branch network, compliance costs, and profit requirements.
For borrowers, this means more competitive rates. For lenders, this means significantly higher yields. And for the financial system as a whole, it means greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.
Crypto-Backed Loans: Access Liquidity Without Selling
While Democratized Prime serves those looking to earn yield, Figure’s Crypto-Backed Loan product addresses a different but equally important need: accessing liquidity without selling your crypto holdings. This product enables users to borrow USD against their Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana at some of the lowest rates available in the market and is originated by Figure Lending LLC in the US.
Key Benefits
Maintain crypto exposure while accessing cash: The primary advantage is maintaining your crypto exposure while still accessing the capital you need. If you believe your cryptocurrency will appreciate over time, selling to access cash means giving up that potential upside. With a crypto-backed loan, you keep your holdings intact, can continue to benefit from any price appreciation, and can access USD immediately for whatever you need.
Competitive rates: Figure offers rates that are among the lowest in the market, making it a cost-effective way to access liquidity. This is possible because of the quality of the collateral and the efficiency of their risk management systems.
* ledn.io/
** archlending.com/
Chart based on 3rd party review conducted in June 2025. Figure does not control content from 3rd party sites.
No hard credit check required: Because the loan is fully collateralized by your crypto holdings, your credit score isn’t the primary factor in approval. This opens up borrowing opportunities to individuals who might not have perfect credit but do have cryptocurrency assets they can use as collateral.
An option of protection against liquidation and margin calls: Many crypto lending platforms will liquidate your collateral if prices drop suddenly, often without warning and at the worst possible time. Figure’s product includes the option to purchase liquidation protection designed to help you weather market volatility without losing your assets.1 While the specifics vary based on loan terms, the focus is on giving borrowers time to respond to market conditions rather than forcing automatic liquidations.
Instant access to funds: Once your crypto is deposited as collateral, you can access your USD loan quickly without waiting for days or weeks for approval, giving you flexibility when opportunities arise or when you need liquidity on short notice.
Why Choose Borrowing Over Selling
Consider a common scenario: you hold Bitcoin that you purchased at $30,000, and it’s now worth $60,000. You need $20,000 for a down payment on a property. If you sell, you’ll realize capital gains and owe taxes on that $30,000 profit. Depending on your jurisdiction and holding period, that could mean a significant tax bill.
Alternatively, you could take out a crypto-backed loan for $20,000, using your Bitcoin as collateral. You access the cash you need without triggering an up front taxable event. If Bitcoin continues to appreciate, you still benefit from that upside. When you’re ready, you can repay the loan and reclaim your Bitcoin, or if you eventually do need to sell, you can do so on your own timeline and potentially in a more tax-efficient manner.
Other use cases include bridging cash flow gaps for business owners who hold crypto, accessing funds for investment opportunities without liquidating long-term holdings, or simply maintaining your desired asset allocation while addressing short-term liquidity needs.
How It Works
The borrowing process is straightforward. You complete a loan application and how much you’d like to do. You deposit your Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana as collateral into Figure’s platform once prompted. Based on the value of your collateral and Figure’s risk parameters, you’ll be approved for a loan amount, with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 50% to provide a buffer against price volatility. Once approved, USD is deposited into your account, usually within hours.
Throughout the life of the loan, you’ll make regular interest payments. Your crypto remains in custody as collateral. When you’re ready to repay the principal, you do so in USD, and your crypto is returned to you. The entire process is transparent, with clear terms and no hidden fees.
Why This Matters for DeFi’s Future
Figure’s approach illustrates how decentralized finance can evolve beyond speculation and trading to serve real economic needs. By democratizing access to institutional-grade financial products, Figure is proving that sophisticated finance doesn’t require traditional intermediaries or exclusive access.
Figure succeeds by focusing on genuine utility: retail users can earn yields comparable to what institutions receive, and they can access credit on competitive terms without selling their assets. There are no minimums that exclude smaller investors, no accreditation requirements that gate access, and no opaque processes that favor insiders. The transparency and programmability of blockchain technology ensure that everyone operates under the same rules and can verify the same information.
This expansion of DeFi beyond speculation into real utility is critical for the sector’s long-term health and adoption. When decentralized finance is primarily about trading volatile tokens and chasing yield through complex, often risky strategies, it remains a niche activity. But when it enables regular people to fund mortgages, earn stable returns on real-world assets, and access credit efficiently, it becomes infrastructure.
The transparency and programmability that blockchain provides creates advantages over traditional systems. Every loan is auditable, every piece of collateral is verifiable, and every transaction is immutably recorded. Smart contracts execute terms automatically, reducing operational costs and eliminating disputes over contract interpretation. This infrastructure is more efficient, more transparent, and more accessible than what came before.
Conclusion
Figure is democratizing access to premium financial products. Through Democratized Prime, everyday crypto holders can earn institutional-grade yields of up to approximately 8.5% APY by lending directly to borrowers backed by transparent, real-world assets. Through Crypto-Backed Loans, those same users can access liquidity at competitive rates without selling their holdings.
The peer-to-peer model dramatically reduces the traditional banking spread, allowing lenders to earn more and borrowers to pay less. The transparency of on-chain collateral means no more black-box risk management, while the accessibility means no more gatekeeping based on wealth or connections.
This is what the future of finance looks like: accessible, transparent, and on-chain. Not finance that requires you to be rich or well-connected, but finance that works for everyone. Not finance that hides its risk and terms in fine print, but finance where everything is verifiable and auditable. Not finance that sits in siloed, legacy systems, but finance that operates on open, programmable infrastructure.
To learn more about how Figure is bridging traditional capital markets with crypto-native infrastructure, visit Figure’s platform to explore Democratized Prime and Crypto-Backed Loans.
Disclaimer:
Rates as of 02/05/2026. The yields discussed herein are historic and reflect participation for a limited period of time. It should not be assumed that future participants would experience yields, if any, comparable to those illustrated herein. Both past and current yields are not reliable indicators of current and future results.
The views and opinions expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent. This article is a general communication being provided for informational purposes only. It is educational in nature and not designed to be taken as advice or a recommendation for any specific investment product, strategy, plan, feature, or other purpose in any jurisdiction, nor is it a commitment from Figure Markets or any of its affiliates to participate in any of the transactions mentioned herein. Any examples used are generic, hypothetical, and for illustration purposes only. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision, and it should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in any securities or products. In addition, users should make an independent assessment of the legal, regulatory, tax, credit, and accounting implications and determine, together with their own financial professional, if any investment mentioned herein is believed to be appropriate to their personal goals. Investors should ensure that they obtain all available relevant information before making any investment. Any forecasts, figures, opinions, or investment techniques and strategies set out are for information purposes only, based on certain assumptions and current market conditions, and are subject to change without prior notice.
All information presented herein is considered to be accurate at the time of production, but no warranty of accuracy is given, and no liability in respect of any error or omission is accepted. It should be noted that any investment involves risks; the value of investments and the income from them may fluctuate in accordance with market conditions and taxation agreements, and investors may not get back the full amount invested.
Democratized Prime is a decentralized lending marketplace operated and administered by Figure Markets. This product uses a Dutch auction; rates may fluctuate. More information about the product and entities involved can be found at figuremarkets.com/disclosures.
Crypto loans are offered to U.S. borrowers by Figure Lending LLC. This product is not available to U.S. residents of DC, ID, IL, KY, MD, MS, SD, TX, VT, or VA.
Figure.com | Licenses | ©2025 Figure Lending LLC dba Figure | 650 S. Tryon Street, 8th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202 | (888) 819-6388. NMLS # 1717824 | For licensing information, go to www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Opportunity Lender. Terms and conditions apply. Visit figure.com for further details.
California loans are made and arranged pursuant to a Finance Lenders Law License, licensed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Finance Lenders Law (License 60DBO81967).
Obtaining a crypto-backed loan generally does not trigger an upfront taxable event. Tax treatment may vary based on individual circumstances. You should consult your tax advisor regarding any potential tax implications, including those that may arise from a liquidation due to a margin call.
1 Liquidation protection is only available in CA, NY, FL, PA, AL, AK, GA, HI, MA, UT. This product allows eligible users to borrow U.S. dollars secured by crypto collateral. The maximum loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratio is 50% at origination.
Crypto loans are offered through Figure Markets Credit LLC to residents of the state of New York and to international customers except in the following jurisdictions: Crimea (Ukraine), Donetsk (Ukraine), Luhansk (Ukraine), Afghanistan, Albania, Belarus, Central African Republic, Congo (the Democratic Republic), Cuba, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Pakistan, Palestine (State of), Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, or Zimbabwe.
Figure Markets Credit LLC. 650 S. Tryon Street, 8th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202. (888) 926-6259. NMLS ID 2559612. For licensing information, go to www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
Products and services referenced are offered under the Figure Markets brand, which is owned and operated by Figure Markets Holdings, Inc. Figure Lending LLC, Figure Markets Credit LLC, and Figure Markets Holdings, Inc are each wholly owned subsidiaries of Figure Technology Solutions, Inc.
