Figure Completes Pricing For First Fully On-Chain Public Equity

Figure expanded its blockchain-based equity model while hinting that secondary trading for FGRD could begin soon.

• FGRD will trade 24 hours a day and settle instantly using Figure’s Alternative Trading System.
• The ETF is issued through Figure’s OPEN network, which registers shares directly on the blockchain rather than using traditional clearing systems.
• Trading firms and custody providers, including Jump Trading LLC and BitGo, are preparing to support activity on the new network.

Figure has finalized its on-chain pricing for a ETF, calling it the first public equity to be listed, traded, and settled entirely on blockchain by using its OPEN network.

On Tuesday, Figure shared that an exchange-traded fund (ETF) named First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure UCITS ETF (FGRD) would trade through its Alternative Trading System (ATS) and settle instantly on-chain, unlike traditional ETFs. 

FGRD tracks the price of the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index, which will now trade 24 hours a day, and could interact with other blockchain-based applications from day one. The pricing closure formally sets the stage for the ETF to begin trading under this fully on-chain structure.

Figure stated that “secondaries are coming,” but did not share the time for secondary trading. It added that FGRD would be issued through its On-Chain Public Equity Network (OPEN).

Figure Technology Solutions Inc. (FIGR) traded at $37.46, up by 1.49% in the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around FIGR remained in ‘bearish’ territory, with chatter increasing from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels in the past day.

OPEN Launch Sets Framework For On-Chain Equity

The update comes after Figure launched OPEN in January, which runs on the Provenance Blockchain.

Figure announced that, through OPEN, companies can issue shares directly on the blockchain instead of creating tokenized versions of traditional securities held at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. FGRD was issued under this framework, making it the “first equity” to trade natively in a public blockchain, as Figure stated. “OPEN reinvents equity trading,” Figure executive chairman Mike Cagney stated.

Figure also noted that trading firms, such as Jump Trading LLC, had begun preparations to support trading on the network, while BitGo signed on to provide qualified custodial services to eligible shareholders.

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