pledgeBest for
US borrowers needing lower minimums and fast funding.
Figure Lending Review 2026
Figure is a US-only BTC lender with a BBB A+ rating. Their tracked Bitcoin loan uses MPC custody, current no-rehypothecation language, and optional Liquidation Protection on a 12-month, 50% LTV structure. They advertise an 8.91% interest rate. The effective APR is 9.999% after a 1% origination fee. Here's the full breakdown of what that means for your wallet and your BTC.
Review decision
Figure fits smaller US loans when speed and clean pricing matter.
The tradeoff is custodial MPC collateral, no published reserve reporting, and state availability limits.
Watch
1% origination fee, reserve transparency, excluded states.
Compare against
Ledn for reserve reporting, Unchained for key control.
Quick Stats
Safety Score
7.1
Effective APR
9.999%
Max LTV
50%
Min Loan
$500
Custody
MPC (custodial)
Rehypothecation
None
Est.
2018
CEO
Mike Cagney
Is Figure Lending Safe? Safety Score Breakdown
Figure scores 7.1/10 on our safety scale. The tracked 8.91% base rate (9.999% effective APR) comes with trade-offs: no published reserve reporting is a significant transparency gap, and exact liquidation timing should be confirmed in the loan agreement. MPC custody is an improvement over traditional custodial models, but the custodial structure still means you don't hold your keys. Here's the factor-by-factor breakdown.
Custody6/10
Figure uses MPC (multi-party computation) custody — an improvement over traditional custodial models where a single entity holds all keys. However, it's still a custodial model: you don't hold your keys during the loan. Compare to Unchained's multi-sig (9/10) where you hold 2 of 3 keys.
Rehypothecation10/10
Current no-rehypothecation language. Figure's official crypto-backed loan page says collateral will never be rehypothecated. That removes a major prior concern, though borrowers should still confirm the exact collateral terms in their loan agreement because the product remains custodial/MPC rather than borrower-held keys.
Regulatory8/10
BBB A+ rating and a traditional consumer-lending pedigree under a US-only, state-by-state rollout that currently excludes 10 states in our tracked dataset, including Texas. Figure has deeper mainstream credit roots than most crypto lenders, but borrowers still need to judge it as a crypto-collateral product rather than a bank account.
Reserve Transparency3/10
No published reserve reporting. This is Figure's biggest transparency gap. Several top-tier lenders (Ledn, Unchained, Nexo) publish some form of third-party reserve reporting or reserve attestation. Without it, borrowers cannot independently verify that Figure holds sufficient collateral. Figure does not publish a separate crypto-loan origination figure, and reserves verification matters.
Track Record9/10
Founded 2018, San Francisco HQ. CEO Mike Cagney previously co-founded SoFi — deep consumer lending experience. Figure does not publish a separate crypto-loan origination figure; company-wide lending spans home equity and other products. Survived 2022 crypto winter with no borrower losses reported. One of the stronger track records.
Liquidation4/10
Figure's public pages describe margin calls, liquidation management, and optional Liquidation Protection, but they do not publish a fixed threshold table or fixed cure window. Treat liquidation handling as loan-agreement dependent before relying on any buffer.
Overall Safety Score:
7.1
Pros and Concerns
Pros
- • 8.91% base rate on the tracked 12-month BTC loan (9.999% effective APR including the 1% origination fee)
- • 12-month fixed term with 50% LTV and optional Liquidation Protection
- • MPC (multi-party computation) custody — decentralized key management
- • Founded 2018 (ex-SoFi leadership); Figure does not publish a separate crypto-loan origination figure
- • BBB A+ rating
- • Optional Liquidation Protection available for an added fee
- • BTC-only collateral on the tracked loan product
Concerns
- • Advertised rate (8.91%) masks the real cost — 9.999% APR with 1% origination fee
- • Custodial model — you don't hold your own keys during the loan
- • US rollout excludes 10 states in our tracked dataset: DC, ID, IL, KY, MD, MS, SD, TX, VT, and VA
- • Agreement-specific margin-call and liquidation terms — confirm before borrowing
- • No published reserve reporting — cannot independently verify collateral holdings
- • $500 minimum loan — same as Ledn, higher than Nexo ($100)
- • Public pages do not publish a fixed margin-call threshold table
How Figure Compares: Rate vs 6 Lenders
Figure's 9.999% effective APR sits in the middle of the pack. Here's how it compares to the six other lenders most borrowers consider.
| Lender | Effective APR | Origination | Safety | Custody |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figure | 9.999% | 1.0% | 7.1 | MPC |
| Ledn | 11.49%* | None | 7.4 | Custodial |
| Arch | 7.25–10.49% | 0.49–1.49% | 7.0 | Custodial |
| Unchained | ~14.3%† | 2.0% | 9.0 | Multi-Sig |
| Nexo | quote-dependent | None | 5.3 | Custodial |
| YouHodler | 10.99–19.02% | None | 4.0 | Custodial |
| Lava (DeFi) | ~6.5–7.5% | None | 3.4 | Unresolved |
* Ledn's 11.49% is for sub-$250K loans. Rate drops to 9.99% at $1M–$2M and 9.25% at $2M+.
Nexo's rate is quote-dependent — it varies with loyalty tier, collateral mix, jurisdiction, and loan duration.
† Unchained's ~14.3% includes quote-only APR + 2% origination fee amortized over 12 months + $250 vault setup fee.
$50K Loan on Figure: What You Actually Pay
Let's run the numbers. You deposit 1 BTC ($100,000) and borrow $50,000 at 50% LTV on a 12-month term. Figure's effective APR is 9.999% including the 1% origination fee.
Collateral
1 BTC ($100K)
Loan Amount
$50,000
LTV Ratio
50%
Interest rate (8.91%)$4,455
Origination fee (1%)$500
Total cost of borrowing$4,955
At Ledn (11.49%, no origination) it costs $5,745 in interest — $790 morethan Figure. At Arch (~10.49% APR incl. fee) it costs $5,245 — $290 more. At Unchained (12% + 2% origination + $250 vault) it costs $7,090 — $2,135 more. For a $50K one-year BTC loan, Figure is cheaper than the other mainstream CeFi options in this comparison.
The Origination Fee Trap: 8.91% vs 9.999%
Figure's marketing headline reads "8.91% interest rate" — and that number is technically accurate. But it's not the full picture. Every Figure loan includes a 1% origination fee, and when you amortize that fee over the loan term, the effective APR becomes 9.999%. That's a meaningful gap.
What Figure Advertises
8.91%
Interest rate only. Does not include the 1% origination fee.
What You Actually Pay
9.999%
Effective APR including 1% origination fee. The real cost.
Interest rate component: 8.91%Origination fee adds: ~1.09%
| Tracked Product | Interest Rate | Origination Fee | Max LTV | Effective APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-month | 8.91% | 1.0% | 50% | 9.999% |
Why the gap matters: On a $50,000 loan, the 1% origination fee is $500 upfront. That's $500 you don't get back even if you repay early. Figure is transparent about this — the 9.999% APR is disclosed in loan documents — but the headline "8.91%" is what most people see first. Always compare effective APR, not interest rate.
What Happens if BTC Drops? Figure's Liquidation Risk
Figure offers a 12-month interest-only term at 50% LTV. Public pages describe margin calls and liquidation handling, but do not publish a fixed trigger table. Use this section as a diligence checklist rather than a static threshold guarantee.
| Event | Public status | What to verify | What Happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margin call | Agreement-specific | Trigger LTV + cure window | Confirm how quickly you must add collateral or repay after a margin notice. |
| Liquidation | Agreement-specific | Sale trigger + protection scope | Confirm when collateral can be sold and what optional Liquidation Protection does or does not cover. |
Liquidation Protection: Figure offers an optional add-on (for an extra fee) that may provide additional protection before liquidation. If you're concerned about volatility, verify the current fee, eligibility, covered events, and exclusions in the loan agreement.
The Bottom Line
Pick Figure if...
- • You want a well-capitalized US lender with a BBB A+ rating and current no-rehypothecation language
- • You value MPC custody and optional Liquidation Protection more than self-custody
- • You want a fixed 12-month interest-only structure at 50% LTV with optional Liquidation Protection
- • You're comfortable with custodial/MPC storage, agreement-specific liquidation terms, and no published reserve reporting
Skip Figure if...
- • You want self-custody — Figure is custodial. Consider Unchained (multi-sig) or Aave (non-custodial DeFi)
- • You want the lowest published BTC rate we track — Lava's 6.5–7.5% is cheaper, but its custody model is unresolved (reportedly custodial as of Nov 2025)
- • You live in an excluded state — TX, IL, MD, VA, and 6 others are not eligible
- • You need more than 50% LTV or a revolving line of credit — Arch is more flexible on both
- • You want published reserve reporting — Figure doesn't publish it today
On the fence?
If you're comparing Figure vs Ledn: Figure has a lower effective APR (9.999% vs 11.49% for small loans) and optional Liquidation Protection. But Ledn has no origination fee, publishes reserve reporting, and accepts loans as small as $500. For large loans ($250K+), Ledn's 10.99% with no fees gets closer to Figure's pricing. At $1M+, Ledn drops to 9.99%. Figure wins on fixed-price simplicity; Ledn wins on transparency and flexibility.
If you're comparing Figure vs Arch: both target a similar borrower. Arch offers a revolving line of credit and 60% LTV. Figure offers a simpler 12-month fixed structure with optional Liquidation Protection. For one-time loans, Figure's 9.999% can beat Arch's typical effective range. For ongoing access to credit, Arch's LOC structure wins.
Keep the next step in the research flow
If this review narrowed the real issue to fee drag, rehypothecation risk, custody structure, or the broader lender shortlist, move there directly instead of turning a Figure-specific due-diligence question into a generic shopping flow.