Blockchain-based lending infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization are gaining traction as fintech firms look to modernize capital markets and improve liquidity access. SMB lending has become a growing focus within this transition, particularly as traditional financing systems continue facing speed and scalability limitations.
Figure Technology Solutions and Credibly have announced a strategic partnership aimed at transforming how small and medium-sized businesses access capital in the United States. By integrating blockchain-native infrastructure into SMB lending, the collaboration seeks to improve liquidity, accelerate funding processes, and expand capital market access for businesses traditionally underserved by conventional banking systems.
The partnership marks a significant expansion of Figure’s blockchain-based marketplace model into the SMB sector, an area that represents nearly half of U.S. GDP and employment but continues to face major financing gaps.
Bringing SMB lending onto blockchain-powered capital market rails
Under the agreement, Credibly will integrate its SMB lending and revenue-based financing products into Figure’s Democratized Prime platform, an on-chain marketplace designed to provide real-time loan financing. This integration allows receivables and loan assets to move onto decentralized lending rails, replacing slower and more fragmented warehouse financing systems with blockchain-based infrastructure capable of near-instant settlement.
The collaboration combines:
- blockchain transparency and immutable records
- AI-driven underwriting and risk analysis
- real-time liquidity access for lenders
- tokenized secondary market infrastructure
By moving SMB assets onto modern financial rails, the companies aim to address one of the sector’s biggest challenges: limited access to timely and affordable capital. According to industry data referenced by the companies, fewer than half of SMB owners currently receive the full financing they seek through traditional channels.
Leveraging Figure’s ecosystem to improve liquidity and scalability
As part of the rollout, Credibly will utilize several components of Figure’s broader infrastructure stack.
Core infrastructure layers include:
- Democratized Prime – providing continuous financing capacity for loan originators
- Figure Connect – a blockchain-native marketplace for tokenized loans and securitizations
- DART (Digital Asset Registry Technology) – an immutable blockchain registry for e-notes and liens
Together, these systems are designed to modernize how loans are funded, tracked, and traded across capital markets.
Michael Tannenbaum noted that the SMB lending market faces many of the same inefficiencies historically associated with mortgage finance, including liquidity constraints and operational fragmentation. By introducing blockchain-native settlement and marketplace functionality, Figure aims to provide fintech lenders with infrastructure that better matches the speed and scalability of modern loan origination platforms.
Accelerating real-world asset tokenization in financial markets
The partnership, expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2026, reflects a broader industry push toward real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Figure has increasingly positioned itself as a major infrastructure provider within this segment, bringing external loan assets onto blockchain-powered rails to support secondary market activity and improve capital efficiency. Credibly adds significant scale to the initiative, having already delivered more than $3 billion in funding to over 61,000 businesses since its founding. The company also completed a $124 million KBRA-rated securitization earlier in 2026, highlighting growing institutional interest in technology-enabled SMB lending. As tokenization continues to gain traction across financial services, partnerships like this demonstrate how blockchain infrastructure is beginning to move beyond experimentation and into core lending and capital market operations.
About Figure Technology Solutions
Figure Technology Solutions is a blockchain-native capital marketplace company focused on integrating loan origination, funding, and secondary market trading. Its ecosystem includes infrastructure such as DART and the Democratized Prime marketplace, supporting hundreds of financial partners and multiple blockchain-based securitization products. The company is considered a leading player in real-world asset tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
About Credibly
Credibly is a fintech lender specializing in working capital solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Founded in 2010, the company has facilitated more than $3 billion in financing through a combination of AI-driven underwriting, risk management technology, and flexible funding products. Credibly focuses on serving businesses that are often overlooked by traditional financial institutions, providing both balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet financing solutions.
