FinTech Figure Launches Cryptocurrency Mortgage Products

Figure Technologies, a US financial technology company that operates both in the home equity and blockchain space, announced on Wednesday that it has launched a cryptocurrency-backed mortgage trading service that enables customers to borrow against their Bitcoin or ether to fund home purchases.

While the full rollout is scheduled to take place in April, Figure has opened its waiting list for crypto-backed mortgages in the US, an effort that would let borrowers put up Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) as collateral.

The loan instrument will allow payments with the crypto collateral. Borrowers will be able to take out mortgages worth up to $20 million for a 30-year loan. Beginning in April, Figure will offer 30-year mortgages of up to $20 million in exchange for putting up an equal amount of cryptocurrency in either Bitcoin or Ether, as collateral.

In a Linkedin post, Mike Cagney, the co-founder and CEO of blockchain startup Figure Technologies, disclosed that the company has opened a waiting list for its mortgage products (Crypto Mortgage and Crypto Mortgage PLUS), and those who signed up could receive them in April.

Payment on the loan over the 30-year term can be paid in cash or with the crypto collateral, and would bear an interest rate of between 3% and 5.99%, Cagney said. “The loans will also be 100% loan-to-value (LTV), so if you put up $5 million in bitcoin or ether, we give you a $5 million mortgage," the CEO explained.

Figure follows several other firms into the crypto-backed mortgage market, a trend that shows rising interest in bringing digital assets to the housing market.

In December last year, Ledn, a crypto lending company, raised $70 million to develop its Bitcoin-backed mortgage product. While in January, Milo, a real estate fintech based in Miami, also launched a waitlist for its crypto mortgage product.

Leveraging Blockchain to Reinvent Financial Services Delivery

Figure was co-founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, who was the co-founder and former CEO of SoFi, a San Francisco-based online personal finance company that went public in June last year through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company run by tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya.

In 2017, Cagney stepped down as CEO of SoFi amid questions about sexual harassment at the firm. Cagney’s new startup, Figure, is already seeing its own success. In July last year, Figure raised $200 million in a Series D financing round, funding that gave the firm a valuation of $3.2 billion.

Figure is a financial services company that leverages blockchain technology. The company offers consumer financial solutions intended for retirement planning, debt consolidation, and home improvement. Its financial services include providing home equity release services like home improvement loans, home equity lines of credit, and home buy-lease back offerings, which leverage blockchain, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics technology services to enable customers to access capital in as few as five days.