Figure: Blockchain Based Home Loans

Figure is founded by SoFi’s former CEO Mike Cagney and has recently raised $50 million from several investors including Ribbit Capital and DCM ventures. Cagney, who built SoFi into America’s student loan refinancer, plans to integrate blockchain into the home loan industry and cut the loan approval time from days to minutes via his new startup Figure. The startup has roped in a couple of large banks already to finance loans.

Figure’s foray in the home loan space will focus on areas such as home equity lines of credit, home improvement loans and home buy-lease back offerings for retirement. The company intends to use blockchain protocol for loan origination, custody, trading and securitization of whole loans.

Blockchain technology has already made inroads into several areas within the lending sector. As blockchain goes mainstream, we will see an influx of additional solutions addressing various functional areas within the lending space. Figure’s innovative technology can definitely address a pain point in the home loan space related to delayed approvals. This startup will be on the radar of investors and financial institutions, given the strong fintech and lending background of Cagney.