Figure Co-Founder: How Figure Became A $10B Business | Mike Cagney
This week, Mike Cagney joins the show to discuss Figure and how it became the leading non-bank HELOC lender in the U.S. We deep dive into how Figure leverages blockchain rails to scale the next evolution of capital markets before Mike shares his thoughts on tokenization, being a public vs private company, how to fix tokens and more. Enjoy!
--
Follow Mike: https://x.com/mcagney
Follow Jason: https://x.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Empire: https://x.com/theempirepod
--
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(03:20) How Do Blockchains Disrupt Capital Markets?
(09:28) Why Did Mike Build Figure?
(27:00) Will Figure Launch a Wallet?
(38:05) SoFi’s Superbowl Ads
(45:42) Tokenizing Equities
(55:08) The Provenance Blockchain
(01:01:46) Being a Public vs Private Company
(01:07:18) How To Fix Tokens
(01:12:27) What’s Next For Crypto In 5 Years?
--
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
Lessons From A Successful Tokenization Project & What Market Structure Reveals About Trump-Linked WLFI’s False Promises: Bits + Bips - Ep. 986
In this double-header episode of Bits + Bips, Steven Ehrlich first speaks with Figure CEO Mike Cagney about why most tokenization projects fail, how Figure built an onchain mortgage replacement, and why he believes big banks may now be leading blockchain innovation.
Then, Jason Brett joins the show to explain how an upcoming crypto market structure bill could expose President Trump’s World Liberty Financial as centralized, and why that matters for DeFi, regulation, and the industry’s credibility.
Sponsors:
Uniswap
Mantle
Host:
Steve Ehrlich, Executive Editor at Unchained
Guests:
Mike Cagney, Co-founder and CEO of Figure Technology Solutions
Jason Brett, Former Banking Regulator With FDIC
Links:
Unchained:
Inside Robinhood’s Big Super App Plan: ‘There’s Still a Lot of Work to Be Done’
Coinbase Launches Stock Trading and Prediction Markets
How the GENIUS Act Creates a Built-In Advantage for Banks and Deposit Tokens
Timestamps:
🚀 00:00 Introduction
🧠 1:48 What is a HELOC?
💡 4:48 How Figure is turning HELOCs into a mortgage replacement
⚡️ 7:58 How Figure issues loans from origination to disbursement
📍 11:28 Why Figure uses a blockchain
⚠️ 12:15 Cagney explains how liquidity poses a challenge for many tokenization projects
🧏♂️ 13:10 Why the real value proposition is in DeFi and how Figure is bring $1 billion on-chain
📃 14:14 Cagney reveals Figure's preferred DeFi platforms
💥 16:09 How the GENIUS Act could drive assets onchain
⚡️ 17:46 How Figure is working towards stablecoin settlement of loans
👀 23:40 Why Cagney says the big banks are doing more disruptive work than the likes of Coinbase
⚖️ 27:53 What Cagney is advocating for around DeFi in DC and his litmus test for decentralization
❕️ 31:30 Why Cagney believes anonymity is not necessary for decentralization CLIP
💡 33:32 How Cagney deals with the pressures of going public
🧠 34:32 Why Cagney has taken a different philosophical approach to Robinhood and Coinbase
💥 37:05 Cagney explains what it takes for tokenization projects to succeed
41:55 Intro
45:51 If crypto finally gets rules, what then?
49:39 Frozen wallets: the DeFi dealbreaker
55:51 Has the White House picked a DeFi side?
56:36 Why this goes beyond “ethics”
58:49 If Trump’s DeFi fails the test… then what?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mike Cagney on bringing every market onchain
Mike Cagney is the co-founder and CEO of Figure Markets.
In this episode, Cagney discusses the need for a 'marketplace of everything,' the potential for equity trading on the blockchain, and more.
OUTLINE
00:00 Intro
07:21 The 'Everything' Platform
12:16 Onchain Equities Trading
17:50 Institutionalization of Crypto
27:12 DeFi Lending
29:59 Rebuilding Crypto's Credit Markets
33:51 Wall Street Appetite for ATS
36:28 Regulatory Considerations
38:09 Closing Thoughts
Recode Decode: Mike Cagney, CEO, SoFi
SoFi CEO Mike Cagney sits down with Kara Swisher to discuss why financial technology startups are suddenly hot and how SoFi hopes to eventually replace your bank, even though it has no permanent physical locations. He also talks about why SoFi is planning to launch a dating app (no, really) and why it ran an ad during Super Bowl 50.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices