Figure Markets CEO: Will Blockchain Lending Replace Banks? - Jake Claver Interview with Mike Cagney

Figure Markets CEO Mike Cagney lays out how an $11 billion blockchain lending wave is disrupting traditional banking & explains why his firm hasn’t lost a single dollar backing loans with Bitcoin. Could traditional banks soon watch up to $6 trillion in deposits head for the exit if a new stablecoin bill passes?

This interview discusses how the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is turning into a serious force, opening the door to a $10 trillion+ market by 2030. Meanwhile, crypto ETFs and growing interest from big institutions are helping DeFi lending hit new records. The tech is doing what banks can’t—cutting out middlemen and trimming loan costs by up to half. It’s even making 24/7 collateral tracking a reality, something that puts legacy systems to shame.

And with all this heating up, giants like JPMorgan are now rushing to launch their own stablecoins, because if they don’t, they risk falling behind in a financial system that’s changing fast.

VIDEO CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 - Introduction to Onchain Collateralized Loans

00:03:04 - Stable Coins and Payment Ecosystem Disruption

00:05:57 - DeFi Opportunities in the Banking System

00:09:07 - Figure Markets' Role in DeFi Development

00:11:52 - Democratizing Prime Brokerage with Stable Coins

00:14:48 - Decentralized Custody and Market Participation

00:17:44 - Blockchain Efficiency in Loan Securitization

00:20:33 - Challenges and Opportunities in Blockchain Adoption

00:23:22 - Provenance Blockchain and Token Utilization

00:26:16 - Integrating Traditional Finance with Blockchain