Figure Technology Solutions closed its $717 million acquisition of Kiavi on Tuesday, bringing one of the largest US lenders to residential real-estate investors onto blockchain rails. The September 1 closing was confirmed in both Figure’s acquisition announcement and its Form 8-K filed with the SEC.

The arrangement represents a chance for the crypto sector to see if tokenized lending can go beyond stablecoins and government bonds. It is also an experiment for the fintech industry to determine if AI-powered underwriting and blockchain funding has the potential for institutional use.

Kiavi is expected to add more than $7 billion in annual first-lien volume to Figure Connect, with over $100 million a month flowing onto Democratized Prime, Figure’s on-chain lend-borrow venue, according to Figure’s June 10 acquisition announcement.

Why tokenization backers are watching this one

The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) has experienced rapid growth, but it continues to be relatively centralized. The RWA market reached approximately $65 billion in May, representing an increase of approximately 44% compared to the $45 billion in the beginning of 2026, as noted by The Block’s market information. This trend was also examined in a report by Cryptopolitan.

Figure already has a prominent presence in the area of private credit. Data from SEC filings indicate that their market share of tokenized private credit stands at around 75% at the end of 2025, while Provenance Blockchain made up about 27% of the total RWA market in terms of blockchain at the end of May.

The acquisition of Kiavi will significantly increase Figure’s lending volume in terms of tokenization. In 2025, Kiavi has recorded the highest total of $7.8 billion in lending, thus adding to multiple lending models in the RWA market besides government loans.

What Figure paid, and how it paid

The $717 million transaction has two main parts. Figure acquired Kiavi’s technology, operating platform and certain other assets, while a joint venture between Figure and Sixth Street purchased loans from Kiavi’s balance sheet, according to the June 10 transaction announcement.

The actual cash consideration of Figure was around $590 million, based on cash acquired. It disclosed in a Form 8-K on September 1 that the payment was done mainly through the proceeds from $600 million of 8.500% senior notes due 2031. The notes were priced on July 9 and closed on July 14.

Figure also paid off Kiavi’s outstanding credit obligations and terminated the repurchase arrangement with Deutsche Bank upon closing.

The AI layer inside the deal

Kiavi brings a comprehensive package of services and not just a loan book. They have an AI-driven platform with a proprietary home-value engine, automated document review technology, and other tools that help make financing easier for residential property investors.

Figure, meanwhile, describes blockchain as its structured-data infrastructure and custom AI as a decision layer. Kiavi’s assets are expected to become the first use case for Adaptor, Figure’s agent-to-agent onboarding product.

Kiavi CEO Arvind Mohan is joining Figure as Chief Business Officer to lead the platform’s rollout.

Adding Kiavi’s talent, platform, and technology to Figure greatly accelerates our roadmap by expanding our marketplace.

— Michael Tannenbaum, Figure CEO

Tannenbaum also highlighted the scale of the home-equity market Figure is targeting.

This transaction represents a massive leap forward for the asset class.

— Arvind Mohan, Kiavi CEO

What it means for the wider market

For crypto, the key question is whether tokenized private credit can scale the way tokenized Treasuries have. Figure is betting that Kiavi’s origination flow, supported by more than 480 active partners, can show that blockchain-based funding and settlement can compete with legacy financial infrastructure.

For AI, the bet is that automated underwriting, document processing and originator onboarding can lower the cost of moving an entire lending category onto digital rails.

Figure said its existing third-quarter Consumer Loan Marketplace guidance does not yet include Kiavi. It plans to update its outlook when it reports third-quarter results, giving investors the first post-closing indication of whether the projected volume translates into actual marketplace growth.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.