Figure Technology Targets $2T Consumer Lending Market With Blockchain and AI  

Expanding access to credit remains one of the biggest challenges in consumer finance. Legacy systems continue to slow approvals, drive up costs, and limit access to capital. Figure Technology Solutions, in its public filing to offer about 26.3 million shares, is positioning itself as a company that can, among other things, modernize the consumer lending process by embedding artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain into loan origination, underwriting and secondary market trading.

Founded in 2018, Figure started in home equity lending but has since built what it says is a vertically integrated model that ties together origination, marketplace distribution, and capital markets execution. Its recently filed S-1 lays out how the company is seeking to expand from home equity loans into a wider range of credit products, while also creating marketplaces for digital assets and stablecoins. Management argues that the combination of AI-driven automation and blockchain’s transparency could cut inefficiencies out of lending markets and deliver faster, more accessible credit.

“The infrastructure supporting capital markets today is fragmented and operates on legacy systems which employ antiquated processes for loan approvals and transaction processing. This creates process and cost inefficiencies in serving consumer credit markets and limits the development of alternative marketplaces,” according to the filing. “Furthermore, the manual elements underpinning the records of ownership and transfer of financial and real assets constrain liquidity, maintain elevated costs, and are error-prone.”

The company’s platform is built on the Provenance blockchain, which it describes as a “record of truth” for assets. Every loan originated through its system is recorded on the blockchain, providing an immutable record of ownership and performance. Figure combines that with automated valuation models, AI-powered underwriting, and smart contracts that govern loan sales and transfers. This approach has allowed the company to shorten approval times for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to a median of 10 days from an industry average of 42 days. Loan applications can be completed in five minutes, with funding available in as little as five days.

Figure estimates its addressable market across lending and capital markets at approximately $185 billion in annual revenue potential, based on consumer credit originations and marketplace trading. In addition to lending, management is targeting tokenization and stablecoins as growth opportunities. External forecasts cited in the filing estimate the asset tokenization market could reach $16 trillion by 2030, while the stablecoin market could approach $5 trillion over the same period.

The filing contends that the company has achieved profitability and scaled it in a capital-efficient way. Revenue models are built on fees from originations, servicing, gain on loan sales, and technology usage. Partner-branded lending, where banks and mortgage originators use Figure’s platform under their own brand, accounts for 77% of total originations. Figure had 168 active partners as of mid-2025.

The company has also built regulatory infrastructure to support its ambitions. It holds more than 180 lending and servicing licenses, 48 money transmitter licenses, and SEC registration as a broker-dealer with authority to operate an alternative trading system. Internationally, it has crypto licenses in the Cayman Islands and Ireland. Management argues that this licensing framework differentiates it from competitors and will support scaling of new products.

From the filing:

• Home Equity Lending Growth: For the 12 months ending June 30, 2025, Figure facilitated about $6 billion in HELOC lending, up 29% from the prior year. The company’s HELOC business has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 70% since mid-2021.
• Figure Connect Marketplace: Launched in June 2024, the marketplace processed $1.3 billion in loan volume in its first year. The platform connects originators and investors directly, with 27 participants onboarded by mid-2025.
• Revenue and Profitability: For the six months ending June 30, 2025, net revenue was $191 million, up from $156 million in the year-earlier period. Net income came in at $29 million, compared with a $13 million loss a year before. Adjusted EBITDA, a rough measure of cash flow, reached $83 million, more than double the prior year.
• Diversifying Products: Although HELOCs make up 99% of current originations, Figure is piloting debt service coverage ratio loans, digital asset-backed loans, and plans to move into personal, auto and student loans.
• IPO Proceeds and Expansion: The company plans to use IPO proceeds to invest in new product development, expand its loan marketplace, and scale initiatives such as Democratized Prime, a funding marketplace, Figure Exchange, a regulated trading platform, and YLDS, a yield-bearing stablecoin registered with the SEC.

The filing acknowledges risks that could slow adoption. Reliance on AI for credit decisions raises fair lending compliance considerations under federal and state law. While automation reduces errors, regulators are closely monitoring how algorithm-driven underwriting impacts borrowers across credit tiers.

Blockchain adoption also faces headwinds. Despite strong growth in tokenization, less than 1% of real-world assets are currently recorded on blockchains, according to industry data cited in the filing. Figure’s expansion into products such as Democratized Prime and YLDS stablecoin has yet to produce meaningful revenue.

And though the $2 trillion figure noted above spans a broad range of consumer asset classes, including HELOCs, mortgage refinance, personal, credit card and automobile loans, home equity lending remains the company’s core business, and demand is cyclical, tied to housing markets and interest rates. A slowdown in mortgage activity or rising consumer credit costs could impact origination volumes and revenue growth.

The post Figure Technology Targets $2T Consumer Lending Market With Blockchain and AI   appeared first on PYMNTS.com.