On The Brink with Castle Island Mike Cagney (Figure) on Blockchain Capital Markets (EP.673)
24 snips
Oct 7, 2025 
Mike Cagney, founder and CEO of Figure, dives into the revolutionary world of blockchain-native capital markets. He shares insights about Figure's recent IPO process and the implications of tokenized securities. Cagney discusses how stablecoins could disrupt traditional banks, suggesting they should adapt by offering yielding alternatives. He emphasizes the advantages of on-chain equities and addresses the regulatory hurdles posed by NMS rules. Additionally, he highlights why HELOCs are a perfect fit for blockchain lending, advocating for decentralization over traditional intermediaries.
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Fight To Keep The Blockchain Story
- Mike described splitting Figure into two companies to try to go public and then recombining them when the market changed.
- He recounted fighting bankers to emphasize blockchain and DeFi in the IPO story rather than just FinTech 2.0.
Three Blockchain Value Propositions
- Mike laid out three core blockchain value props: transactional efficiency, liquidity, and DeFi financing.
- He argued DeFi financing is the most powerful because it connects sources and uses of capital and disintermediates rent.
Second-Class Equity As Blockchain Entry
- Figure launched a chain-native second class of equity to trade on an ATS and enable bilateral settlement and DeFi uses.
- Mike sees convertibility via treasury swaps as a way to link NMS securities and blockchain-native securities for liquidity parity.