OpenWorld and Figure Team Up to Tokenize Equity on the OPEN Network Ahead of NASDAQ Listing

OpenWorld Ltd. and Figure Technology Solutions have signed an agreement to tokenize OpenWorld’s equity securities on Figure’s Onchain Public Equity Network (OPEN), timed to coincide with OpenWorld’s proposed NASDAQ listing. The deal is the first step in OpenWorld’s strategy to prove its tokenization infrastructure on its own balance sheet before deploying it for institutional and sovereign clients worldwide.

Key Highlights

• OpenWorld and Figure agreed to tokenize OpenWorld equity on Figure’s OPEN Network in connection with its NASDAQ dual listing.
• OpenWorld will also use Figure Forge to bring private credit assets onchain into Figure’s Democratized Prime marketplace.
• The NASDAQ listing is proceeding through OpenWorld’s reverse merger with VerifyMe, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRME).
• On OPEN, investors own blockchain shares directly, can lend holdings to earn yield, and cross-collateralize crypto and equities simultaneously.
• Figure (NASDAQ: FIGR; OPEN: FGRS) is the market leader in real-world asset tokenization and has received AAA ratings from S&P and Moody’s on blockchain loan securitizations.
• Recent SEC and CFTC regulatory clarity on digital asset classifications has widened the window for compliant tokenized equity infrastructure.

NEW YORK, May 5, 2026. OpenWorld Ltd. And Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. Announced an agreement to tokenize OpenWorld’s equity securities on Figure’s OPEN Network as OpenWorld advances toward its NASDAQ listing via a reverse merger with VerifyMe, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRME). The announcement is a rare moment in the evolution of public blockchain markets where a company building tokenization infrastructure for others is willing to put its own securities on the same rails first.

What Figure’s OPEN Network Actually Offers Investors

Figure’s OPEN is not a traditional alternative trading system. It is a blockchain-native equity network that runs parallel to NASDAQ, giving companies the option to issue shares on both platforms simultaneously. The structural difference matters for investors. On OPEN, shareholders own blockchain shares directly rather than through a custodian, which opens capabilities that traditional brokerages have never offered retail or institutional investors.

Investors on OPEN can lend their holdings to earn yield and keep the returns that previously went to prime brokers. They can also cross-collateralize their crypto portfolios and equities together for borrowing purposes, a feature that is not available at mainstream brokerages. Settlement is real-time, costs are lower, and the infrastructure is built specifically for a regulated environment.

“Investors have long had no real say in how their equity works for them, but OPEN changes that,” said Mike Cagney, executive chairman of Figure. “By having the ability to issue alongside NASDAQ, companies like OpenWorld would be able to give investors a genuine choice and, on OPEN, that choice comes with direct ownership, the ability to lend shares and keep the returns that traditionally went to prime brokers, and the ability to cross-collateralize crypto and equities for borrowing.”

Figure (NASDAQ: FIGR; OPEN: FGRS) is already the largest blockchain-native capital marketplace in the US. More than 300 partners use its loan origination system. The company and its partners have collectively originated over $24 billion of home equity. Its ecosystem includes DART (Digital Asset Registry Technology) for asset custody and lien perfection, as well as $YLDS, an SEC-registered yield-bearing stablecoin structured as a tokenized money market fund. Figure has received AAA ratings from both S&P and Moody’s on multiple loan securitizations, the first of its kind in blockchain finance. This track record is part of why a company like OpenWorld, which advises sovereign governments on blockchain infrastructure, chose Figure as its OPEN Network partner.

OpenWorld’s “Prove It on Your Own Balance Sheet” Strategy

OpenWorld is a technology company that co-architects enterprise blockchain initiatives alongside governments, institutional partners, and major enterprises. Founded in 2023, it has advised on projects representing over $65 billion in aggregate network value and supported more than 20 companies backed by leading global venture firms including a16z, Multicoin Capital, Dragonfly, and Founders Fund. Its active engagements span the Gulf, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

The decision to tokenize its own equity before its NASDAQ listing is deliberate positioning. The company’s argument is straightforward: if it is selling tokenization infrastructure to sovereign clients globally, it should demonstrate that it is willing to run its own securities on those same rails. The announcement builds on OpenWorld’s broader RWA Center of Excellence initiative and signals institutional confidence in the OPEN Network as a regulated environment ready for public equities.

“This agreement with Figure positions OpenWorld at a critical moment in the evolution of real-world asset tokenization. We are not building tokenization infrastructure for others while leaving our own securities on legacy rails,” said Matt Shaw, co-founder and CEO of OpenWorld. “Tokenizing our equity on Figure’s OPEN network demonstrates to our institutional partners that we are willing to go first.”

OpenWorld is completing its NASDAQ listing through a reverse merger with VerifyMe, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRME). That merger gives OpenWorld an accelerated path to public markets while keeping the tokenization timeline intact. The equity securities being tokenized on OPEN will be issued in connection with that NASDAQ listing, making this a dual-market strategy from day one.

Private Credit Goes Onchain Too

The deal with Figure extends beyond public equity. OpenWorld also announced it will use Figure Forge as a pathway to bring its private credit assets onchain and into Figure’s Democratized Prime marketplace. Democratized Prime is Figure’s on-chain lend-borrow marketplace, which connects institutional and retail borrowers with capital in a blockchain-native settlement environment.

The private credit component is significant because it moves RWA tokenization beyond the press release stage. OpenWorld’s principal positions in enterprise blockchain initiatives include private credit exposure, and placing those assets on Figure’s infrastructure creates a live, auditable demonstration of tokenized credit working in a regulated framework. This matters particularly for institutional clients who need to see compliant digital asset infrastructure functioning at scale before committing.

The Regulatory Window Is Narrowing

Both companies cited recent regulatory clarity from the SEC and CFTC as a factor in their timing. The agencies have moved toward more defined classifications for digital assets over the past year, and the CLARITY Act currently advancing through the Senate is expected to further define the rules for blockchain-based securities. OpenWorld’s position is that the window to establish leadership in compliant tokenized equity infrastructure is open now, and it will not stay open indefinitely.

The regulatory environment is shaping how equities are being represented through blockchain frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. For companies that build tokenization infrastructure, first-mover positioning in a compliant structure carries compounding advantages: regulatory familiarity, investor trust, and infrastructure lock-in for future issuers who choose the same rails.

This timing also aligns with broader institutional appetite for blockchain-based financial rails. Bitcoin ETF flows hit $629 million in a single day earlier this month, and major institutions have begun treating blockchain infrastructure as core rather than experimental. The conversation in institutional finance has shifted from whether to whether compliantly and at what scale.

What Comes Next for Tokenized Public Markets

The OpenWorld and Figure agreement is a proof point for a model that could become standard for blockchain-native companies going public. Dual listing on NASDAQ and OPEN simultaneously gives companies a mechanism to offer investors a genuine choice about how their equity is held and used. If that choice proves valuable at scale, the pressure on traditional brokerages and custodians to match those capabilities will intensify.

Figure’s Democratized Prime marketplace already demonstrates that yield, lending, and cross-collateralization can coexist in a regulated onchain environment. If OpenWorld’s OPEN listing attracts institutional adoption at meaningful volume, it creates a template that other companies preparing for public listings, particularly those in the Web3 and digital asset space, may follow.

The agreement also reinforces Figure’s position as the infrastructure layer for tokenized public markets. It has already demonstrated AAA-rated loan securitizations on blockchain. A public equity dual listing with a high-profile blockchain company is the next category to prove.

The TCB View

The OpenWorld and Figure announcement is one of the cleaner strategic moves in RWA tokenization this year. The logic is tight: if you are selling tokenization infrastructure to governments and institutions, you do not get to leave your own balance sheet on legacy rails. OpenWorld understood that and moved first. The private credit component is equally important. It signals that this is not a press release partnership. It is an operational integration across two asset classes at once.

The window for leadership in compliant tokenized equity infrastructure is real and finite, as both companies said. What makes this announcement credible is that OpenWorld is not waiting for that window to fully open before walking through it. For institutional clients watching from the Gulf and Southeast Asia, that signal carries weight that a white paper never could.