Figure and Hastra widen DeFi credit offering with auto loan launch

Figure and Hastra are adding auto loans to their tokenized credit platform, expanding the types of real-world assets available to decentralized finance (DeFi) investors beyond home equity products.

Democratized Prime, a decentralized lending marketplace on Figure Markets, is adding auto finance as its first new asset class as part of its plan to build a marketplace where different types of consumer credit can be issued, traded and funded onchain, according to a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

“We’ve been purposefully building toward this,” Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure, said, adding that the platform has originated over $22 billion in onchain loans.

The move marks an early test of whether tokenized private credit can expand beyond home-equity products into mainstream consumer lending, a shift that could widen DeFi’s access to real-world yield but also import the credit risks of subprime-style loan markets.

Figure launched Hastra in 2025, with its public debut and rollout occurring later that year. The platform, which initially launched on Solana (SOL), was built as an extension of Figure’s lending ecosystem, using its loan origination and credit infrastructure to bring real-world assets (RWAs) onchain.

Related: Nauru taps Bitcoiner Dadvan Yousuf for trade role in digital asset push

Hastra expands to EVM chains

At the same time, Hastra is expanding to Ethereum-compatible (EVM) chains, opening access to a larger DeFi ecosystem and bringing its existing credit system, including home equity loan exposure, to new chains.

A Figure spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Hastra will start with Ethereum (ETH) as part of its push into EVM chains. They also confirmed that the auto finance product will first launch on Solana before rolling out on Ethereum around June.

Figure shares are down 12% YTD. Source: Yahoo! Finance

Still, bringing consumer loans onchain does not remove the underlying risks tied to those assets. Non-prime auto loans can carry higher default rates, especially in weaker economic conditions.

There are also questions around regulation, transparency and how these blockchain-based credit products would perform under stress or during volatile market conditions.

Related: Circle to launch cirBTC wrapped Bitcoin, challenging BitGo and Coinbase

Figure gains bullish outlook from Bernstein

Earlier this month, Bernstein analysts said Figure may be undervalued, assigning the blockchain-based lender an “Outperform” rating and a $67 price target, nearly double its recent trading price. The bullish outlook follows growth in its tokenized lending business, with loan originations surpassing $1.2 billion in March and first-quarter volumes reaching $2.9 billion.

Figure went public on Sept. 11, 2025, listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FIGR.

Big questions: Would Bitcoin survive a 10-year power outage?