Figure Technology, a blockchain-centric financial services firm dedicated to tokenized assets and lending, has initiated a second public offering aimed at issuing native equity directly on a public blockchain. This initiative, which comes after the company’s recent listing on Nasdaq, seeks to enhance decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Solana.
During the Solana Breakpoint conference, Figure’s executive chairman Mike Cagney announced that the company has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce what he referred to as “a new version of Figure equity on a public blockchain,” specifically on Solana.
Cagney stated that the blockchain-native equity would not be traded on traditional platforms like Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, nor would it depend on introducing brokers such as Robinhood or prime brokers like Goldman Sachs.
Instead, the security would be issued and traded natively on-chain via Figure’s alternative trading system, which he described as “effectively a decentralized exchange.”
By issuing equity directly on Solana, investors could utilize the tokenized security within DeFi protocols, allowing it to be borrowed or lent, Cagney noted.
He remarked that the company’s wider objective goes beyond just tokenizing its own shares, with ambitions to facilitate native equity issuance for other companies directly within the Solana blockchain:
“One of the focal points that we have is not only bringing that equity over to the Solana ecosystem but allowing for native Solana equity issuance as well.”
Related: Figure Technology boosts IPO size, total deal could reach $800M
Tokenization on Solana is gaining momentum
Already one of the most active public blockchains, Solana is increasingly becoming a hub for tokenized assets, with its share of the real-world asset (RWA) market growing steadily over the past year.
While Ethereum continues to lead in tokenization, Solana is anticipated to become the preferred network within the financial sector for stablecoins and tokenized assets as time progresses, according to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.
As Wall Street assesses the long-term viability of tokenized assets, attention is expected to gravitate towards blockchains that provide high speed, throughput, and rapid transaction finality, areas where Solana possesses a competitive edge over numerous rival networks, Hougan stated.
Research from RedStone has classified Solana as a “high-performance challenger” in the RWA sector, particularly in tokenized US Treasury markets.
Related: Scaramucci predicts ‘exponential opportunity’ for crypto at LONGITUDE
