Hey there, Meme Insider readers! If you’ve been keeping an eye on the latest crypto and finance buzz, you might have stumbled across a wild thread on X from mert | helius.dev (@0xMert_). This post dives into the recent Figma IPO and calls it “MEV with suits”—a spicy take that’s got the blockchain community talking. Let’s break it down and see what this means for investors, both in TradFi (traditional finance) and the crypto world.

What Happened with the Figma IPO?

So, Figma, the popular design software company, went public with its IPO on July 31, 2025. Private bankers set the initial share price at around $30, a figure influenced by the fees they charge underwriters. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, here’s the kicker: as soon as the market opened, the stock shot up to $95 and kept climbing past $120. That’s a massive gap! According to mert’s analysis, this pricing blunder cost Figma a whopping $3 billion in potential value. Ouch!

The thread suggests that retail investors—everyday folks like you and me—ended up buying in at the higher prices, while the bankers and institutional players walked away with the lion’s share of the profits. It’s a classic case of the little guy getting “rinsed,” as one commenter put it.

What’s MEV, and Why Does It Matter Here?

If you’re new to the crypto scene, MEV stands for Maximal Extractable Value. It’s a term borrowed from blockchain, where miners or validators reorder transactions to maximize their profits—think of it as a sneaky way to skim extra value. In the crypto world, this happens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap, where smart traders exploit price differences.

Mert’s comparison to “MEV with suits” is brilliant because it highlights a similar dynamic in traditional finance. The bankers, acting like crypto miners, set the IPO price low to benefit themselves and their institutional clients, leaving retail investors to buy at the inflated market price. It’s legal frontrunning, dressed up in Patagonia vests, as another X user quipped!

The Ripple Effect on Retail Investors

This situation raises a big question: why do retail investors keep playing a game that feels rigged? Comments in the thread range from frustration (“Pain... I still see upside”) to skepticism (“How long will retail keep playing a rigged game?”). The 90/10 split between institutional and retail allocations in IPOs (as explained on Fidelity’s site) doesn’t help. Retail often gets the leftovers, and in Figma’s case, that meant jumping in after the price spiked.

Lessons from Crypto for TradFi

The thread also sparks an interesting debate: could blockchain tech fix this? Some users suggest that decentralized exchange launches are “provably fair,” unlike the opaque allocation process of traditional IPOs. Imagine an IPO where smart contracts ensure everyone gets a fair shot at buying shares—now that’s a meme-worthy idea! For blockchain practitioners, this is a reminder of how decentralized finance (DeFi) could shake up old-school finance.

What’s Next for Figma and Investors?

Figma’s IPO saga is still fresh, and the stock’s upward trajectory might mean more volatility ahead. If you’re into meme tokens or crypto trading, keep an eye on how this plays out—it could signal a shift in how IPOs are priced and allocated. For now, the X community is buzzing with takes, from “Wall Street is frontrunning” to outright disagreement (“Nah I totally disagree 🤣”).

So, what do you think? Is this just business as usual, or a wake-up call for retail investors? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and let’s meme this story into the blockchain history books! For more juicy updates, stick with Meme Insider and dive into our knowledge base to level up your crypto game.