(Bloomberg) --Figure Technologies Inc., a blockchain startup founded by former SoFi Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Cagney, has withdrawn its application for a national bank charter.
The company withdrew its application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on July 31, the regulator's website shows. Figure applied for the charter, used by depository institutions and other financial firms offering bank-like services, in 2020, saying then that the charter would allow it to offer services nationwide while reducing the complexity of its business.
Like most crypto-adjacent startups, Figure has lost talent and struggled to raise funds during an industry downturn. The company recently cut 90 employees, or about 20% of its staff, Bloomberg News reported late last week. The company is also starting to interview bankers in advance of a planned initial public offering for its lending business next year.
"Figure has made the decision to withdraw our banking charter application as we focus the organization on other areas of growth with a broad set of established bank partners," a spokesperson for the San Francisco-based company said in an emailed statement.
Figure, which Cagney started in 2018, uses blockchain to build financial products, such as loan origination. It has a partnership with Apollo Global Management Inc.
