Ideas
Real-world assets into DeFi is theme
Cagney expects the push to bring real-world, yielding assets onto public blockchains and into DeFi applications to be a major 2026 theme. Figure originates at least $1 billion of loans per month on public blockchain and is trying to route as much as possible into DeFi, starting with its Hastra launch and partnerships, because tangible yield from assets like U.S. mortgages is easier to understand and more stable than algorithmic crypto yield.
New Web3 Magnificent Seven will emerge
The public market is now ready for blockchain stories. Cagney firmly believes that just as Web2 produced a Magnificent Seven, a similar cohort of Web3 companies will emerge and list publicly, with investors seeking exposure to that ecosystem. Figure hopes to be one, but the broader theme is a new set of public blockchain and Web3 winners.
Figure is a Web3 Mag Seven candidate
Figure is a differentiated blockchain-native operating business: it uses blockchain to strip cost out of traditional fintech, generated $160 million of revenue and $90 million of income in the third quarter, and is pursuing a second IPO where its stock trades natively on Provenance and through a self-custody alternative trading system. Cagney hopes Figure becomes one of the Magnificent Seven of Web3 and says its public offering is the first of many blockchain-native public equities.
Public equities will trade natively on-chain
Cagney argues public equities will migrate natively onto blockchain, bypassing DTCC and NASDAQ listing rails, using self-custody ATS trading and wallet-connect instead of introducing brokers. Figure's second offering is an early example; he expects many more companies to issue blockchain-native equity, which is highly disruptive to the traditional brokerage and custody construct.
GENIUS Act unlocks stablecoin disruption
The GENIUS Act gives stablecoins a path to real utility because large banks like Chase can build rails that make stablecoins usable for payments. Once stablecoins compete with bank deposit accounts, they can pull liabilities out of the banking system, and DeFi can finance the related credit and provide yield directly, disintermediating banks as yield aggregators. Cagney expects an enormous wave of stablecoin innovation, much of it from traditional finance.
Figure's Yields coin is competitive
Figure has a yielding stablecoin called Yields that pays interest, is backed by Treasuries, and is freely transferable peer-to-peer. Cagney is offering it to banks as a security-version alternative to JPMorgan's JPM Coin; if it gains ubiquity, payment rails can be built on top. This is a differentiated stablecoin product with yield and regulatory clarity.
Regulators must recognize and protect DeFi
Cagney is strongly pro-DeFi: self-custody and non-rehypothecation are essential after Celsius-style failures, and DeFi should be recognized as bilateral peer-to-peer transactions rather than securities transactions. He sees DeFi as the mechanism for stablecoin deposits and real-world assets to find yield and for consumers to disintermediate banks, and he is lobbying regulators to protect it.
Leaning into Solana builder ecosystem
Cagney likes Solana's builder community and is leaning in by minting Figure's yielding stablecoin natively on Solana and bringing real-world asset and yield products into the ecosystem. He argues a native yielding security or coin future-proofs fiat on/off ramps for Solana builders, and the Hastra launch with Kamino, Raydium, and Chainlink gives him confidence to scale aggressively, even though he expects multiple L1s and values interoperability.
Hastra offers scalable RWA yield
Hastra, Figure's new Solana-based product, lets users buy wrapped Yields and pledge them for a Prime token; the wrapped Yields route to Figure's Democratized Prime DeFi marketplace, which lends against Figure HELOCs. The setup uses Kamino for looping, Raydium for liquidity, and Chainlink for oracles, and Cagney calls it a great yield and sees enormous opportunity to scale it.
Brokerages face wallet-based disintermediation
Cagney predicts a self-custody wallet plus best-of-breed DApp model will replace the super-app broker construct. In that world, users do not need Robinhood or Schwab to access exchanges or equity markets; wallet-connect lets them trade directly, which he calls hugely disruptive to the traditional brokerage business.
Visa and Mastercard are at risk
Cagney argues blockchain will cause one of the largest reallocations of public equity market cap ever, with trillions shifting away from old financial intermediaries. He specifically says interchange networks such as Visa and Mastercard are at risk because blockchain can disintermediate their toll-taking roles and be better for consumers.
This Real Vision video, published February 10, 2026,
features Mike Cagney
discussing RWA in DeFi, BLOK, FIGR, Tokenized public equities, STABLECOINS, YLDS, DEFI, SOL, Hastra, HOOD, SCHW, V, MA.
11 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Mike Cagney
· Tickers:
RWA in DeFi,
BLOK,
FIGR,
Tokenized public equities,
STABLECOINS,
YLDS,
DEFI,
SOL,
Hastra,
HOOD,
SCHW,
V,
MA
