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Author: Li Dan, Wall Street News
The craze for listing in the currency circle triggered by the “first stablecoin stock” Circle continues to rise, and another upstart with the label of the currency circle rose sharply in double digits on the day of its debut in the US stock market.
On Thursday, Eastern Time, Figure Technology Solutions Inc., a consumer lending platform based on blockchain technology, logged on to Nasdaq with FIGR as its stock trading code, and opened at $36, a 44% increase compared with the IPO issue price. Shortly after that, the increase expanded to more than 50% and rose by more than 52%. Later, it gradually gave up about half of the increase, closing at $31.11, closing up 24.4%.
Figure’s issue price is $25, 13.6% to 20% higher than the latest guidance range of $20 to $22 after the uptick.The company successfully raised US$787.5 million by issuing 31.5 million shares.
Calculated by the issue price, Figure’s valuation after listing was US$5.3 billion, and at the opening price, it reached US$7.6 billion. By the closing, the company’s market value was approximately US$6.57 billion.This valuation far exceeds the valuation of the US$3.2 billion in venture capital rounds in 2021.
Figure’s listing marks the continuation of the trend of companies in cryptocurrency sector embracing the open market.This week is regarded as the busiest week for IPO transactions in the United States this year.Following Figure, Gemini Space Station Inc., a well-known cryptocurrency exchange led by brothers of billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, will be listed on the Nasdaq on Friday.
Figure’s strong performance reflects the continued interest of investors in blockchain companies with solid fundamentals, which has achieved profitability and has applied blockchain technology in real businesses such as home equity loans.
A blockchain lending platform with steady improvement in profitability
Figure was founded in 2018 and was co-founded by former SoFi Technologies CEO Mike Cagney.The company develops blockchain technology to promote loan business including home equity lines of credit, and has funded more than $16 billion in loans on the blockchain.
Documents submitted to regulators show that Figure’s financial performance is stable, turning losses into profits in the first half of this year, with revenue increasing by 22% year-on-year.
In the six months ended June 30, Figure achieved a net profit of US$29.1 million and revenue of US$190.6 million, compared with a net loss of US$15.6 million and revenue of US$156 million in the same period last year.In 2024, the company’s revenue was US$341 million and its net profit was US$17.2 million, a significant improvement compared with the annual revenue of US$209.6 million and its net loss of US$47.94 million in 2023.
Figure contributed to approximately $6 billion in home equity loans in the 12 months ended June 30, a year-on-year increase of 29%.The company’s customers are of high quality, with the weighted average FICO credit score of the partner brand HELOC loan customers being 756 points, and the Figure brand loan customers being 749 points.
Management emphasizes the practical value of blockchain technology
Figure CEO Michael Tannenbaum said the reasons for the company’s listing are closely related to blockchain technology.He said:
“What’s unique about Figure is that we are an example of a company that adds real value through blockchain in the real world.”
Figure co-founder Mike Cagney said in his prospectus that Figure is the largest physical asset player in the public blockchain field and no other peers can surpass it at present.”Blockchain is the democratization of financial services,” he told the media on Thursday.
Cagney told another media that Figure will use blockchain to make investment changes.He gave an example that in stock market transactions, there are seven intermediaries participating between buyers and sellers, and blockchain technology can simplify the participants to only two parties.
Cagney also revealed that among the top 20 mortgage companies, 10 use Figure’s technology to issue loans.David Chao, general partner of DCM Ventures, an early investor in the company, said more than 20 major banks have used the Provenance blockchain developed by Figure.
Speaking of market prospects, Tannenbaum mentioned that the U.S. has a $35 trillion home equity stock, saying “our business area has huge room for development and growth potential.”
Crypto companies embrace open market trends to continue
Figure’s successful listing has added new impetus to blockchain and cryptocurrency-related companies entering the open market.The company’s IPO received strong demand, with the number of shares issued increased from the initial 26.65 million shares to 31.5 million shares, and the pricing range also increased from $18-20 to $20-22.
Duquesne Family Office LLC, a subsidiary of billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, said it was interested in buying up to $50 million in shares at IPO prices.Goldman Sachs, Jefferies Financial Group and Bank of America serve as the lead underwriters of the IPO.
Figure’s investors include affiliates of DCM, Ribbit, Gemini Investments and Morgan Creek Capital Management.By holding Class B shares with 10 votes per share, Cagney is expected to continue to control Figure 68.6% of its voting rights.
More IPO transactions will appear on Friday, including the highly-anticipated cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, which raised the issue price guidance range to $24-26 earlier this week from $17 to $19 per share.Based on the new range upper limit, its valuation can reach US$3.1 billion.
Gemini was founded in 2014 with more than US$18 billion in assets on the platform, providing services such as cryptocurrency trading, US dollar stablecoins, digital asset custody and cryptocurrency reward credit cards.
