Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR), the blockchain capital‑markets company led by ex‑SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, is launching a native, tokenized class of its stock that will trade entirely onchain — and it’s doing so as it upsizes a secondary offering to $150 million. Called FGRD, the new stock token will be issued, traded and settled on Figure’s Onchain Public Equity Network (OPEN), the company told CoinDesk. That means transactions are recorded and finalized directly on a blockchain rather than routed through traditional clearing and custody systems, a setup Figure says enables faster settlement, programmable compliance and fewer intermediaries. How it works and who can trade it - FGRD will be available through the Figure Markets app and via compatible self‑custody wallets integrated with OPEN. - Token holders can also use FGRD as collateral for lending or borrowing on Figure’s DeFi protocol, Democratized Prime. - Unlike most tokenized equities today — which are typically offchain assets wrapped by intermediaries — Figure says FGRD is issued natively onchain and represents the actual equity rather than a derivative or proxy. Why it matters Figure positions OPEN and FGRD as an attempt to modernize what Cagney calls “decades‑old market plumbing.” “By issuing FGRD natively onchain, we’re re‑architecting the core infrastructure of capital markets to be real‑time, transparent, and programmable, while removing layers of intermediaries that add cost, risk, and friction,” he said. Figure’s broader business and traction Figure runs a blockchain‑native capital markets platform that spans loan origination, funding and secondary trading. The company says it has originated more than $22 billion in home equity loans and offers custody, tokenization and onchain yield products used by banks, credit unions and fintechs. Financing and market context The token launch coincides with Figure’s upsized secondary public offering of $150 million, which includes participation from Pantera Capital. The company also announced a $10 million repurchase of common stock from existing shareholders. Figure went public in September; its shares have lost recent gains amid a broader crypto market pullback. Bottom line FGRD is one of the higher‑profile attempts to move traditional equities fully onto public blockchains. If adopted, the native‑onchain approach could reduce settlement risk and operational frictions, while opening new DeFi use cases for equity holders — but it also raises regulatory and custody questions that tokenized‑asset markets are still grappling with. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news