Figure co-founder Mike Cagney has urged the U.S. Treasury to follow Malaysia’s tokenized bond platform, which connects digital securities records with round-the-clock settlement in central bank money.
Summary
- Cagney argues direct blockchain issuance could cut government borrowing infrastructure costs and attract more buyers.
- Malaysia separates tokenized ownership records from payments handled through its central bank settlement system.
- DTCC has processed live tokenized Treasury repo transactions involving securities held in its custody.
- Federal Reserve research has explored programmable monetary operations without committing to a policy change.
Mike Cagney said Bank Negara Malaysia’s SSDS+ launch offered an example he wanted Washington to consider, describing the securities as native on-chain government bonds, “not wrapped IOUs.”
In his post, the Figure executive argued that a similar U.S. approach could lower issuance and registration costs and bring more demand for Treasuries. He presented those benefits as his expectations, without giving a cost estimate or a forecast for new purchases.
Figure executives press for tokenized Treasury issuance
Cagney said he would like the U.S. Treasury to “do something similar,” framing Malaysia’s launch as a model for American government debt.
Figure’s Michael Tannenbaum described the Malaysian development as a central bank settling tokenized sovereign debt in central bank money around the clock. He called tokenization “the future of the capital markets.”
Cagney linked his comments to Figure’s own business, saying the company continues to pursue native on-chain issuance on Provenance and networks including Solana, Stellar and Base. His request concerned how government securities are issued and recorded, alongside the money used to settle purchases.
Malaysia’s central bank used narrower wording about government debt in its launch announcement. Bank Negara Malaysia said SSDS+ was ready to support tokenized government and corporate retail bonds, identifying a supported capability without naming a completed sovereign issuance.
Malaysia’s tokenized bond platform connects two systems
Bank Negara Malaysia announced SSDS+ on Oct. 20 as a platform for issuing, holding and safeguarding tokenized bonds and sukuk. The bank said it developed the system internally using cloud and distributed ledger technologies.
SSDS+ builds on Malaysia’s existing Scripless Securities Depository System, which serves the wholesale financial market, according to the central bank. Its stated scope covers wholesale issuance alongside the government and corporate retail instruments it is ready to support.
For settlement, the bank assigns separate jobs to SSDS+ and RENTAS+. SSDS+ manages securities transfers and digital ownership records, while RENTAS+ handles the corresponding payments in central bank money. The bank said their integration supports payment and settlement services around the clock.
Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the linked platforms would support new uses in securities and payments and help make financial markets more efficient and responsive.
US Treasury securities have entered live tokenized trades
U.S. market infrastructure firms have already processed transactions involving tokenized Treasuries. On July 15, DTCC announced that more than 30 firms participated in production trades using tokens created from securities held at the Depository Trust Company.
DTCC said the transactions included a U.S. Treasury repo delivery-versus-payment trade, securities lending, collateral pledges and equity transactions. Conversions took place on its private Besu network and the public Canton network.
The company describes its tokens as digital representations of assets in DTC custody. Participants can convert those securities between conventional and tokenized forms and deliver the tokens to their wallets, according to DTCC.
As crypto.news previously reported on May 5, DTCC’s tokenized securities launch plans included a working group of more than 50 firms. DTCC identified Treasury bills, notes and bonds among eligible assets and scheduled limited production activity for July ahead of an October service target.
In a Sep. 29 interview about tokenized Treasury fund usage, Falcon Finance chief RWA officer Artem Tolkachev argued that products bought for income should be judged by their intended purpose. He said a Treasury fund can serve investors by paying yield and meeting redemptions even when its tokens remain in wallets.
Federal Reserve experiments remain separate from policy decisions
The New York Fed and Bank for International Settlements published Project Pine in May 2025, exploring monetary operations in hypothetical tokenized wholesale markets. Their research tested a programmable toolkit for paying interest on reserves, open market operations, and collateral management.
Researchers ran ten scenarios covering normal conditions and market stress. The New York Fed said the prototype performed the intended operations, while identifying interoperability and data standards as areas needing further work. Its announcement explicitly limited the project to research and experimentation and said it did not represent Federal Reserve policy.
In a separate regulated liability network experiment, the New York Innovation Center examined simulated dollar payments involving commercial bank deposit tokens and theoretical wholesale central bank money. The project used only simulated data in a test environment.
The experiment’s legal workstream found no insuperable legal impediments to the contemplated network under existing U.S. frameworks, according to the New York Fed. Researchers said further analysis and engagement with regulators were necessary before final conclusions.
Figure has pursued native blockchain shares through OPEN
Figure announced its native stock issuance network on Jan. 14, with the On-Chain Public Equity Network running on Provenance. In its company announcement, Figure said OPEN registers equities directly on blockchain rather than creating representations of DTC-held securities.
The company said trading would use its alternative trading system and a limit order book. Shareholders would be able to borrow against or lend stock through its Democratized Prime protocol.
At the announcement, Figure planned to become OPEN’s first issuer and support two-way exchanges between its blockchain shares and Nasdaq-listed equity. The company named BitGo as a prospective qualified custody provider and said Jump Trading had begun preparations to provide market making.