US financial technology company Figure Technologies today announced the launch of a separate company named Figure Markets, a “first step” in developing a single platform for investors to trade a wide range of native assets. blockchain, including cryptocurrencies, stocks and alternative investments.
Ahead of launch, Figure Markets raised over $60 million in a Series A funding round led by Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, and Lightspeed Faction, according to its press release. Other participants included Distributed Global, Ribbit Capital and CMT Digital.
“Our goal is to extend the benefits of blockchain to a broader range of assets, including cryptocurrencies and securities,” Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Markets, said in the release. “It’s ironic that the biggest crypto exchanges aren’t on the blockchain – we aim to change that.”
Figure said the new trading platform would leverage the Provenance blockchain, a network that has accumulated a total locked value of $13 billion, according to its website.
Figure Markets’ initial plans include a new decentralized custody crypto exchange and a marketplace for blockchain-native securities with wallets that use Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology. As Figure’s decentralized MPC wallets require approval from multiple parties for each movement, this helps minimize “single point of failure” risks that can be seen in centralized entities, the press release states.
“Over time, the intention is to offer trading in a variety of equity, fixed income and crypto products, as well as alternative investment options, using best-in-class cross-collateralization and compensation,” the press release states.
Figure said it was also working on developing a registered security alternative to stablecoins that would be used for its ecosystem.
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About the Author
Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block who writes about topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the fall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and business marketing from the University of Hong Kong.