Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-focused financial technology company, is pushing stock lending on-chain with a new system that allows investors to lend shares directly to one another without relying on traditional securities intermediaries.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the company has launched the On-Chain Public Equity Network, known as OPEN, which allows companies to issue real equity directly on Figure’s Provenance blockchain.
Unlike other tokenized stock offerings, which typically mirror existing shares through synthetic instruments, the equity issued on OPEN represents actual ownership. Those shares can be lent or pledged directly on the blockchain, bypassing intermediaries such as custodians, exchanges and brokers, according to Figure CEO Mike Cagney.
In practice, the system allows investors to lend their shares natively onchain rather than through conventional securities lending markets. Proponents say the approach could streamline settlement and improve transparency around ownership and lending activity.
Figure went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in September, raising nearly $800 million in its initial public offering (IPO).
Cagney told Bloomberg that several companies have expressed interest in issuing shares on OPEN, including digital asset treasury companies, which have proliferated since last year but carry additional risk due to their heavy reliance on volatile digital asset prices and balance sheets concentrated in a single asset.
Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets
2026: The year of tokenized stocks
The tokenization of real-world assets emerged as one of blockchain’s dominant investment themes in 2025, though activity was largely concentrated in private credit and US government debt.
Tokenized equities are now beginning to draw increased attention, with some industry participants describing the segment as entering a “stablecoin moment,” a reference to the early growth phase stablecoins experienced around 2020.
By late December, the total value of tokenized stocks had reached $1.2 billion, according to Token Terminal data. Separate estimates show that monthly trading volumes for on-chain equities have climbed to about $800 million.
More companies are moving into the space. These include Backed Finance, whose xStocks suite offers exposure to dozens of tokenized equities traded on exchanges such as Kraken and Bybit. Securitize has also announced plans to support onchain trading of public stocks, alongside similar initiatives from Coinbase and Ondo Finance.
Related: BlackRock's BUIDL hits $100M in payouts, showing tokenized finance at scale
