Blockchain’s Fannie Mae Moment, Bitcoin Treasury Shakeout & AI Agents That Pay

On this episode of CoinDesk's Public Keys from the New York Stock Exchange, host Jennifer Sanasie sits down with Michael Tannenbaum, CEO of Figure Technology Solutions, to unpack the company's record quarter, its self-described "Rule of 150," and why it sees blockchain as a standardization engine for capital markets. Then, Lance Vitanza, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at TD Cowen, explains why the 2026 digital asset treasury shakeout has clarified the model rather than broken it—and what separates the companies built to last from the rest. Plus, Sid Coelho-Prabhu, Head of Coinbase Business, breaks down Coinbase's bet on AI agent payments, why stablecoins like USDC are emerging as the currency of agentic commerce, and how the x402 protocol could reshape the way businesses get paid. - Learn more at bullish.com. - Register now for CoinDesk's Policy and Regulation event on September 22, 2026: policy-regulation.coindesk.com. - To get market-moving news delivered daily, download CoinDesk’s mobile app: linktr.ee/coindeskapp. - Chapters/Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to Public Keys 00:20 Figure's Record Quarter and the "Rule of 150" 00:50 Figure CEO Michael Tannenbaum Joins 04:05 Figure as the "Fannie Mae of Blockchain" 06:44 Cutting Diligence Costs and Fighting Loan Fraud 08:10 Unlocking $35 Trillion in US Home Equity 09:57 Responding to the Morpheus Research Report 12:16 The Digital Asset Treasury Shakeout of 2026 12:55 TD Cowen's Lance Vitanza Joins 15:00 Why Strategy Is Built for a Bitcoin Bear Market 17:02 Strive, Smarter Web and Nakamoto in the Win Column 20:00 Treasury Companies vs. Spot Bitcoin ETFs 23:19 Coinbase Bets on Payments from AI Agents 23:41 Coinbase Business Head Sid Coelho-Prabhu Joins 24:45 How AI Agents Are Already Spending Money 27:03 Why Stablecoins Are Winning Agentic Payments 30:25 Inside the x402 Payment Protocol 32:06 What Still Needs Solving in Agentic Payments