Reid Simon is a finance executive serving as President of Digital Assets at Figure Technology Solutions. He has worked on developing financing solutions for technology and digital asset companies, including structured finance, venture debt, and blockchain-based financial products. ^[2]

Education

Simon graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in Political Science and Pre-Medicine in 2009. He then attended Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he earned his MBA in Finance in 2014. ^[3]

Career

Simon began his career as Co-Founder and COO of MaGil IRB, a company focused on regulatory approval and risk-management processes for biomedical human subjects research. He held the position from 2009 to 2016, overseeing operations before the company was acquired by Linden Capital Partners in 2017. In 2013, Simon joined Credit Suisse as an Investment Banking Associate, where he worked on debt financing, mergers and acquisitions, and global industrials transactions. He later moved to Uber in 2016, working in finance, operations, and lending for the company’s captive finance platform, Xchange.

Simon entered the digital asset sector in 2018 when he joined Blockchain.com as Head of Credit. During his tenure, he built and expanded the company’s private credit business, developing financing solutions for digital asset and cryptocurrency companies. His work included venture debt, leverage facilities, working capital financing, capital expenditure financing, structured products, and hedging solutions.

In 2023, Simon joined Securitize as Head of DeFi/Credit Solutions, where he led Securitize Credit and focused on developing credit products and financing solutions connecting digital asset securities with decentralized finance markets. In August 2025, he became President of Digital Assets at Figure, continuing his work in digital asset-related financial services and products. ^[4]

Interviews

Figure

In a July 2026 fireside chat with David Hoffman of Bankless at ETHConf, Simon discussed Figure’s development of blockchain-based lending infrastructure and its efforts to bring real-world assets on-chain. Simon explained that Figure initially gained attention for its tokenized home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), using verifiable lending data and expanding access to these assets across multiple blockchains. He described the company’s origins in consumer lending, influenced by founder Mike Cagney’s background at SoFi, and its focus on creating a more efficient lending model through blockchain technology. Simon highlighted HELOCs as an ideal asset class for tokenization because traditional origination processes are often costly and inefficient, while on-chain systems can improve access, reduce financing costs, and create new lending products such as Prime. He also discussed Figure’s integrations with platforms like Morpho to provide liquidity and expand DeFi access, as well as plans to tokenize additional asset classes including auto loans, residential loans, small business financing, inventory, and trade finance. Simon stated that Figure’s goal was to scale its on-chain assets and grow its presence across Ethereum-based DeFi markets into a larger financial infrastructure platform. ^[5]

Presentations

DeFi Credit Layer

In a March 2026 presentation at EthCC[9], Simon discussed Figure’s approach to bringing real-world assets (RWAs) into decentralized finance through asset origination, securitization, and on-chain distribution. Simon explained that while global real-world assets represent a roughly $300 trillion market, bringing them into DeFi has remained challenging due to issues around access, liquidity, and integration with traditional financial structures. He outlined Figure’s approach of originating assets directly from source data, including its automated credit approval process for real mortgage loans, which had supported the origination of billions of dollars in loans while reducing reliance on manual underwriting. Simon described the company’s securitization process, distribution infrastructure, and efforts to connect institutional financing with DeFi platforms through tokenized assets and permissionless cash flow distribution. He also highlighted solutions such as Figure Forge, which enables large loans to be divided into smaller participations to improve liquidity and collateral flexibility. Simon stated that Figure’s long-term goal was to serve as a credit layer for DeFi by providing access to real-world assets, cash flows, and financing infrastructure across both regulated institutional platforms and permissionless decentralized applications. ^[6]

Panels

DeFi, Custody, and Access

In a March 2026 panel at EthCC[9] alongside Jason Lau of OKX, John Hallahan of Fireblocks, and Simo from Aave, Simon discussed institutional adoption of decentralized finance and the role of infrastructure in connecting traditional finance with blockchain markets. Simon highlighted the importance of wallets as control layers for institutions, supporting functions such as custody, governance, and access to DeFi applications, while noting that only a small portion of institutional assets had moved into decentralized finance at the time. He identified key institutional DeFi use cases including treasury management, trading activities, and on-chain financial products, while emphasizing growing interest in asset tokenization among banks and asset managers seeking improved collateral efficiency. The panel also addressed challenges related to liquidity, regulation, and technology risks in bringing real-world assets on-chain, with participants discussing solutions focused on transparency, interoperability, and improved asset fungibility. They concluded that stronger compliance infrastructure, multi-chain capabilities, and the development of crypto-native financial products would be important factors in expanding institutional participation in DeFi. ^[1]