NUVA launched on Ethereum, bringing access to $19B in tokenized real-world assets tied to Figure Technologies.
Ethereum News
A new Ethereum (ETH)-based marketplace built by Animoca Brands and Nuva Labs is connecting approximately $19 billion in tokenized real-world assets to decentralized finance (DeFi), starting with products tied to Figure Technologies Solutions (FIGR). The platform, called NUVA, pulls assets originating on the Provenance blockchain into Ethereum DeFi protocols where users can trade, lend, or post them as collateral.
Figure Technologies was founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney and operates as one of the largest issuers of blockchain-based private credit through the Provenance network. NUVA links assets from that network to Ethereum-based DeFi markets, opening institutional-grade products to retail participants who typically cannot access them through traditional finance channels.
2 Flagship Products at Launch
The platform launches with two initial instruments. The first is nvYLDS, a Treasury-linked yield vault tied to Figure's SEC-regulated stablecoin YLDS, which carries more than $500 million in circulating supply. The second is nvPRIME, a token backed by Figure's $18.4 billion portfolio of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), currently offering yields above 7%, though access remains largely restricted to institutions and accredited investors.
Anthony Moro, CEO of Nuva Labs and a former BNY executive, said the platform addresses a gap that existing tokenization infrastructure has not filled. "Nobody really has that unified global distribution layer for blockchain-native assets," he said. "We thought what was missing was a platform where users could access institutional-grade assets in a simple, composable format."
Users deposit stablecoins into vaults and receive ERC-20 tokens representing ownership stakes in the underlying assets. Those tokens can then be used across Ethereum DeFi protocols for trading, lending, or as collateral.
Assets Are Digitally Native, Not Digital Copies
Moro pushed back on conventional tokenization models, which he argued still rely too heavily on off-chain infrastructure. "The way to tokenize assets isn't a digital twin," he said. "The Figure loan itself is digitally native. There's no filing cabinet somewhere keeping the real record."
The platform plans to expand beyond its initial product set and eventually integrate with blockchains beyond Ethereum. Moro said the longer-term vision is to "eliminate Wall Street's limited access, time lag and high fees" by making a broad range of tokenized assets available in a self-directed, self-custodial format. Multiple industry forecasts project the broader market for tokenized real-world assets could reach trillions of dollars over the next decade.
