Figure Technology's IPO pricing a sign of strong demand for crypto company's stock
By Steve GelsiCrypto-trading and stablecoin company raises $788 million and is valued at more than $5 billion after recently upsized IPO prices above the expected rangeBlockchain-technology specialist Figure Technology Solutions will begin trading on Nasdaq on Thursday.Figure Technology Solutions Inc.'s initial public offering priced well above the top of the estimated price range, even after the estimated range and offering size were recently raised, in a sign of strong investor demand for the profitable cryptocurrency-trading and stablecoin company's stock ahead of its Thursday debut.The pricing of Figure's IPO comes just after Klarna Group PLC's stock (KLAR) rose 14.6% on its first day of trading. The buy-now-pay-later company's IPO also priced above its range. A busy day is expected for IPOs on Friday, highlighted by the anticipated debut of crypto exchange Gemini Space Station Inc. (GEMI), which saw its estimated IPO-pricing range raised earlier this week.The Renaissance IPO ETF IPO, which climbed 1.4% in morning trading Thursday, has soared 22.2% in 2025, while the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 11.7%.Read: Klara leads busiest week for big IPOs in four years. Will newly public stocks stay hot?Shares of New York-based Figure Technology (FIGR) will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol "FIGR." IPO stock typically start trading between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern time.Figure Technology, a profitable financial technology company co-founded by a former chief executive officer of Sofi Technologies Inc. (SOFI), specializes in blockchain access to help lenders provide home-equity loans.The IPO of 31.5 million shares was priced late Wednesday at $25. That was after the estimated pricing range was raised earlier this week to $20 to $22 from $18 to $20. The number of shares being offered was also raised, from 26.65 million shares.With the pricing, the company took in $787.5 million. And with 211.66 shares outstanding, the company was valued at $5.29 billion.The lead underwriters of Figure's IPO include Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and BofA Securities.Four more deals are on deck for Friday: heating and ventilation company Legence Corp. (LGN) ($702 million in expected IPO proceeds), traffic-management company Via Transportation Inc. (VIA) ($450 million), cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Space Station Inc. (GEMI) ($417 million) and coffee chain Black Rock Coffee Bar Inc. (BRCB) ($250 million).The IPO market has been fueled by a backlog of companies that have grown larger partly by raising money in private markets, as well as a continued rally in the stock market, with the S&P 500 setting a new all-time closing high on Wednesday.Other tailwinds for IPOs include growth in quickly growing industries such as cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and data centers.Figure Technology runs blockchain marketplace to originate loansFigure Technology describes itself as a blockchain-native capital marketplace that connects origination, funding and secondary-market activity among lenders and borrowers.It was co-founded in 2018 by Executive Chairman Michael Cagney and board member June Ou, who is Cagney's spouse.Cagney was Chief Executive of Sofi from 2011 to 2017.In 2020, Figure Technology completed the first securitization of blockchain-native consumer loans in the industry, according to the company."We believe we are the largest real world asset player in public blockchain, and no one else has been able to catch up to us," Cagney said in the company's IPO prospectus.At last check, Figure Technology has worked with more than 160 partners for its loan-origination system and capital marketplace, with more than $16 billion in home-equity loans to date.It runs Figure Connect, its consumer credit marketplace, and Democratized Prime, which it describes as "Figure's on-chain lend-borrow marketplace."The company reported net income of $29 million on revenue of $191 million in the six months ending June 30. In the year-ago period, it reported a net loss of $13 million on revenue of $156 million.In full-year 2024, it generated $341 million in revenue and net income of $17.2 million, up from revenue of $209.6 million and a net loss of $47.94 million for full-year 2023.-Steve GelsiThis content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.