Today Figure launched its blockchain-native common stock FGRD and I took it for a test drive. It's the first SEC-registered common equity issuance native on the blockchain. Like Galaxy's tokenized stock, this isn’t a tokenized wrapper of a DTCC-held security; it’s the security itself. You can trade it 24x7 on the Figure ATS with deep liquidity, it settles instantly, and you can loan it out and borrow against it. This evening I bought one share of FGRD on the Figure ATS. Here is the play-by-play: * Easy Onboarding - Opened a brokerage account at Figure through their app, passed KYC and funded the account. You can only buy FGRD through the Figure app for now. * 24x7 Trading with Deep Liquidity - Bought 1 share of FGRD on the Figure ATS at 9pm. The ATS uses a central limit order book with more liquidity than I expected courtesy of Jump Trading. The spread was wide at $31.31/$31.94. See the image for the full order book. Payment has to be made in YLDS which is Figure's stablecoin. * Atomic Settlement - I sold the share, received YLDS and converted this to USD. The USD was immediately available. * Democratized Prime - via Figure’s 'Democratized Prime' I attempted to loan FGRD out on a transparent stock loan limit order book (there was no demand), and could borrow against it. Figure call the ecosystem they have created OPEN - On-chain Public Equity Network, and it's an impressively sophisticated step into the future.