Why Public Markets Are About to Move Onchain | Michael Tannenbaum

Mar 31, 2026

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In this episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn Melinek speaks with Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure, about how the company processes over $1 billion in mortgages monthly and why it went public in 2025. Michael, who was first employee at Brex and chief revenue officer at SoFi before joining Figure in 2024, explains why the company tokenized its own stock first to prove the model works before approaching other issuers.

He walks through Figure's 100% year-over-year growth with 50% margins by using blockchain tech to cut mortgage origination costs, why tokenization is now part of the buying criteria for capital markets, and the difference between creating liquidity versus just tokenizing assets. The conversation covers the Provenance blockchain, OPEN launch and demand, its DeFi marketplace, and why private credit needs institutional owners for long-term assets rather than retail investors.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Intro
(01:17) Career path: SoFi chief revenue officer, first employee at Brex, now Figure CEO
(03:21) Why Michael bet on Brex
(05:09) Reconnecting with Mike Cagney on Figure
(08:41) His framework for building through crypto and fintech cycles
(10:34) Figure's IPO timing and being publicly traded while building onchain markets
(15:56) Why Figure tokenized its own stock first before approaching other companies
(18:35) Liquidity in tokenization: just because you tokenize doesn't mean it's liquid
(22:00) Launching with Figure’s own inventory to avoid guinea pig problem
(23:26) What it means to have “hair on fire” problems
(25:37) When to emphasize blockchain benefits versus meeting skeptics where they are
(27:26) Breaking the rule of 40: 100% growth with 50% margins using blockchain technology
(28:27) Revenue growth: 100% year-over-year across mortgages, stablecoins, and DeFi marketplace
(33:11) Capital markets highway thesis: blockchain infrastructure not SaaS as next fintech model
(46:26) Watching private credit nervousness around retail investor redemptions

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