The Real-World Assets (RWA) theme is a major investment opportunity projected to grow significantly into 2026, bringing stable, real-world yield to the blockchain. Consider an investment in Solana (SOL), as its ecosystem is a primary hub for RWA development and institutional adoption. Keep an eye out for the upcoming secondary offering of Figure (FIGR), a highly profitable leader in the RWA space that plans to issue its stock as a digital asset. This aligns with the long-term thesis of identifying the future "Magnificent Seven" of Web 3.0 that are set to disrupt traditional finance. For a direct play, focus on builders like Figure and foundational blockchains like Solana that are leading this transformation.

Figure Markets (FIGR)

• The guest, co-founder Mike Cagney, presents Figure as a highly successful and innovative company bridging traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
• Strong Financial Performance: The company reported impressive first earnings post-IPO, with $160 million in revenue and $90 million in income for the third quarter, highlighting extreme operational efficiency due to its use of blockchain.
• Business Model:
  • Figure is the largest originator of Real-World Assets (RWA) on public blockchain, putting over $1 billion of loans a month on-chain.
  • The company is planning a secondary offering where its stock will be issued as a native digital asset on the Provenance blockchain, tradable on its own alternative trading system, bypassing traditional exchanges like NASDAQ and custodians like the DTCC.
• Bullish Sentiment: Cagney believes Figure could become one of the "Magnificent Seven" of Web 3.0, given its leadership in RWAs and its role in bringing major financial firms onto the blockchain.

Takeaways

• Figure (FIGR) appears to be a strong player in the intersection of FinTech and blockchain, with a proven, highly profitable business model in the credit space.
• The company's plan to tokenize its own equity is a pioneering move that could disrupt traditional stock market infrastructure. Investors interested in the "picks and shovels" of blockchain infrastructure may find this compelling.
• The company's success, even when the broader crypto market was underperforming, suggests its value is tied to its fundamental business operations rather than just crypto market sentiment.

Solana (SOL)

• The podcast takes place at the Solana Breakpoint Conference, and the guest expresses a positive view of the ecosystem.
• Key Strength: The primary attraction for Figure is the vibrant "builder community" on Solana. The ecosystem is seen as having a high concentration of developers and innovative projects (dApps).
• Partnerships: Figure is actively building on Solana:
  • It is minting its yielding stablecoin, Yields, natively on Solana to provide a foundational asset for developers.
  • It is bringing RWAs to the Solana ecosystem through a project called Hastra, in partnership with Solana-native protocols like Kamino and Raydium, with oracles provided by Chainlink (LINK).
• Multi-Chain View: While bullish on Solana, the guest believes in a multi-chain future where interoperability is key, not a "winner-take-all" scenario for a single Layer 1 blockchain.

Takeaways

• Solana continues to be a top choice for serious developers and projects, particularly those focused on high-growth areas like Real-World Assets (RWA).
• The integration of established TradFi players like Figure lends significant credibility and potential capital inflows to the Solana DeFi ecosystem.
• Investors in SOL should view the growth of its developer community and the onboarding of institutional-grade projects as key long-term value drivers.

Investment Theme: Real-World Assets (RWA)

• This is highlighted as a "big theme going into '26". The core idea is bringing tangible, yield-generating assets from the real world (like U.S. mortgages) onto the blockchain.
• Stability of Yield: Unlike the often volatile and complex yields from purely crypto-native activities (algorithmic stablecoins, derivatives), the yield from RWAs is derived from stable, understandable sources like mortgage payments. This is seen as more attractive and sustainable.
• Figure's Role: Figure is a leader in this space, originating over $1 billion in loans per month on-chain and working to integrate them into DeFi protocols for liquidity.
• Hastra Project: This is a specific example of RWA implementation on Solana, where users can access yield generated from Figure's loan portfolio.

Takeaways

• The RWA sector represents a massive opportunity to bridge the multi-trillion dollar traditional credit market with the efficiency and accessibility of DeFi.
• Investors should look for protocols and companies that are building the infrastructure to tokenize and trade RWAs, as they are poised to capture significant value if this trend accelerates.
• The introduction of stable, real-world yield could de-risk DeFi for many investors and attract a new wave of institutional and retail capital into the crypto ecosystem.

Investment Theme: The "Magnificent Seven" of Web3

• The guest proposes that just as Web 2.0 produced a handful of dominant tech giants (the "Magnificent Seven"), a similar group of leading companies will emerge in the Web 3.0 era.
• Disruption Potential: These companies will use blockchain to disintermediate legacy systems, creating trillions of dollars in market cap reallocation.
• Sectors at Risk:
  • Brokerages: Models like Robinhood (HOOD) and SoFi are seen as vulnerable to a future where users connect a self-custody wallet directly to decentralized applications (dApps) and exchanges, removing the need for a middleman.
  • Payment Networks: Companies like Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) are at risk of being displaced by more efficient blockchain-based payment rails.
  • Custodians and Banks: The entire structure of centralized custody and banking is threatened by self-custody wallets and DeFi protocols.

Takeaways

• This is a long-term, high-conviction thesis on the transformative power of blockchain.
• Investors should focus on identifying potential future leaders of Web3—companies that are building foundational, disruptive technology rather than just speculative assets.
• A key indicator of a potential Web3 leader is its ability to bridge the gap between the traditional financial world and the decentralized future, as Figure aims to do.

Stablecoins

• Regulatory Catalyst: The "Genius Act" (as mentioned in the transcript) is seen as a pivotal piece of legislation that legalizes stablecoins and will unlock an "enormous amount of innovation."
• Increased Utility: Regulation is expected to enable stablecoins to be used for everyday transactions (e.g., "buying coffee at Starbucks"), making them a direct competitor to traditional bank deposit accounts.
• Institutional Adoption: Large banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are expected to enter the space with their own coins, validating the technology and creating a competitive landscape.
• Yielding Stablecoins: Figure is launching its own stablecoin called Yields, which is backed by U.S. Treasuries and pays an interest rate to holders, offering a competitive alternative to both traditional bank accounts and non-yielding stablecoins.

Takeaways

• The stablecoin market is poised for significant growth, driven by regulatory clarity and increasing utility.
• The emergence of yielding, regulated stablecoins could pull significant capital out of the traditional banking system and into the DeFi ecosystem.
• Investors should monitor the development of stablecoin regulations and the competitive dynamics between bank-issued coins and crypto-native alternatives like Figure's Yields.