The first crypto lending IPO is here

Welcome back, friends —

The first crypto lending IPO just hit Wall Street. Figure is putting tokenized finance on Nasdaq’s stage, backed by Goldman and BofA.

ETH treasuries are quietly overtaking BTC, ZachXBT is hunting scams, and Solana’s meme war is back in full swing.

Let’s break it down.

💰 The first crypto lender goes public

After years of boom-bust cycles, regulatory clampdowns, and sketchy lending schemes, crypto finally has a clean-suited contender stepping onto Wall Street’s main stage.

Figure, a blockchain-native lending platform, has filed to go public on the Nasdaq under the ticker FIGR. It's not just the next IPO, it’s a coming-of-age moment for crypto lending.

Backed by Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Bank of America Securities, Figure’s listing shows that traditional finance is commiting.

And this time, it’s not vaporware or vague tokenomics. Figure reported $191 million in revenue for the first half of 2025, a 22.4% surge year-over-year, and posted $29 million in profit, rebounding from a $13 million loss in the same period last year.

What does Figure actually do?

Figure is building the financial rails for tokenized lending.

Instead of lending like a DeFi protocol or central exchange, Figure originates traditional home equity loans and then places them on-chain using its own blockchain network, Provenance. That’s where the magic happens, once on-chain, those loans become tokenized, tradable financial instruments.

Figure isn’t just offering loans. It’s building the infrastructure for others to tokenize and trade debt. The company already works with over 160 financial partners, originating more than $16 billion in home equity lines.

Why go public now?

Just a year ago, Figure was burning capital to build. Now, it's flipping the script.

In 2024, the company posted losses while investing heavily in its tech stack and partner network. But 2025 has been different. As global demand for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization soared and regulatory clarity improved under the current U.S. administration, Figure’s infrastructure finally began to shine.

More partners = more tokenized loans = more revenue.

And it’s not just Figure making moves. Circle’s IPO in January and Gemini’s recent filing point to a broader shift: crypto infrastructure companies are becoming legitimate IPO candidates, not fringe experiments.

So how does Figure make money?

Unlike DeFi, which relies on liquidity incentives or lending pools, Figure monetizes more like a traditional fintech:

• It originates loans and earns fees

• It sells tokenized debt to institutional buyers

• It licenses Provenance blockchain infra to other lenders and platforms

• And it earns on secondary market volume as more asset trades occur on-chain

This is blockchain as infrastructure, not as ideology.

Wall Street backing

What makes Figure’s IPO so different is who's backing it.

Goldman Sachs, BofA, and Jefferies aren’t just underwriters. They’re also expanding their own digital asset offerings. Figure’s playbook offers them a gateway into the new capital markets: one where blockchain powers settlement, not just speculation.

As IPOX CEO Josef Schuster put it this week:

And it’s not just IPOs. Analysts are also watching for SPAC deals and private equity buy-ins to follow as crypto infra firms finally get their moment in the sun.

The big idea

Figure’s IPO isn’t just a corporate milestone. It’s a signpost for where financial markets are going.

For years, crypto lending was defined by the chaos of Celsius and the implosion of BlockFi. Figure offers a new narrative: blockchain used to streamline, not gamble with assets and regulations firmly in view.

If this model scales, the floodgates open for tokenized mortgages, credit portfolios, and entire capital markets on-chain.

The age of crypto lending didn’t start with a bang. But it might just go public with one.

TLDR:

• Figure Technology, a blockchain-based lender, has filed to go public on Nasdaq under ticker FIGR

• It reported $191M in revenue and $29M in profit for H1 2025, reversing last year’s losses

• Figure tokenizes real-world loans like home equity lines on its Provenance blockchain

• This IPO follows Circle’s and Gemini’s moves to tap public markets in 2025

• Backed by Goldman Sachs, BofA, and Jefferies, Figure signals Wall Street’s growing comfort with crypto infra

• The listing could mark a turning point for tokenized finance and on-chain capital markets

Corporate crypto playbook: Is the treasury tide shifting from BTC to ETH?

1/ Bitcoin treasury buyers are dipping

Charles Edwards (@caprioleio) of Capriole shared a chart that stopped us in our tracks. The number of companies adding Bitcoin to their treasury is down to just 2.8 per day, even as BTC hovers near ATHs.

This isn’t normal behavior in a bull market.

While price roars ahead, treasury appetite is fading: raising questions about whether the tradfi cap-raising cycle has peaked… or if companies are just looking elsewhere.

2. Ethereum is quietly taking over treasuries

Meanwhile, BitMine (BMNR) which was once a small-time BTC miner, is now the second-largest crypto treasury holder in the U.S., after Strategy (MSTR).

Its weapon of choice? Ethereum.

BitMine has:

• Accumulated 1.52 million ETH

• Grown its ETH treasury to $6.6B

• Surpassed Marathon (MARA), which holds $5.9B in BTC

And it’s not slowing down. Founder Tom Lee says the goal is to eventually own 5% of Ethereum’s total supply.

The bigger picture

• BTC buyers are slowing, but that doesn't mean crypto treasuries are done.

• ETH is seeing fresh inflows, with treasuries + ETFs together holding 10M+ ETH.

• Corporate narratives are diversifying, and ETH is winning where innovation is happening.

Solana’s meme war: Let’sBonk vs Pump.fun

1/ Let’sBonk just dropped a points system
It’s a direct shot at Pump.fun meant to win back the market after losing the top spot. The battle for Solana’s meme launchpad crown is heating up.

2/ July was BONK’s breakout.
70%+ market share.
Retail love.
Raydium-backed liquidity.
Pump.fun looked finished.

Then came August.

3/ Pump.fun bounced back.
Launched the “Glass Full” liquidity program.
Rumors of “Pump Rewards” spread.
Volume and token mints are rising again.

4/ This isn’t just about tokens.
It’s a loyalty war.
A vibes war.
A long game.

Points alone won’t win this. Trust will.

• SEC delays decisions on 5 spot XRP ETF proposals

• Analysts downplay the AI bubble as OpenAI’s Altman predicts some investors will get burnt

• Meta and Character.ai face investigation over chatbots posing as therapists

• Google to build Tennessee nuclear plant to power data centers in the U.S. southeast

• Leaked xAI’s Grok prompts reveal problematic personas in the chatbot

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