Figment Inc.

Figment Inc.

Figment was founded in 2018 by Lorien Gabel, Andrew Cronk, and Matt Harrop — three blockchain engineers who previously built enterprise software at companies including R3 and IBM. The firm’s founding thesis was that institutional capital would require reliable, compliant staking infrastructure as Ethereum transitioned to proof-of-stake and other networks matured. Lorien Gabel serves as CEO. Figment operates staking infrastructure for over 60 proof-of-stake networks, including Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot. The firm earns fees by delegating client tokens to validators on their behalf — typically taking a percentage of staking rewards. Figment does not take custody of client assets; it connects to wallets held by custodians such as Coinbase Custody and Fireblocks. The firm’s primary clients are asset managers, hedge funds, exchanges, and foundations seeking yield on digital asset holdings without operational overhead. As of early 2023, Figment had over $650M in assets under stake, supporting more than 60 institutional clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. The firm operates data centers in multiple geographies to ensure validator uptime. In 2022, Figment raised a $110M Series C led by Thoma Bravo at a reported valuation of $1.4 billion — a rare institutional endorsement of the staking sector (per TechCrunch, 2022). Figment’s structural differentiator is its focus on non-custodial staking as a pure infrastructure service, rather than a fund or trading desk. This allows it to serve competing crypto custodians and exchanges without conflict. The firm does not operate a balance sheet, trade, or lend client assets — a posture that aligns with institutional compliance requirements.