Former Signature Bank execs launch N3XT, a 24/7 blockchain bank
A group of former executives from the failed crypto-friendly Signature Bank has launched N3XT, a blockchain-based, state-chartered bank aimed at providing instant, 24/7 payments. N3XT said on Thursday it plans to settle transactions at any time using a private blockchain and will support programmable payments via smart contracts. The company added that its systems are built for interoperability with stablecoins, utility tokens and other digital assets.
N3XT was founded by Signature Bank co-founder Scott Shay. The bank will operate under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter and will not offer lending services.
Signature Bank was one of three crypto-focused U.S. banks — alongside Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank — that collapsed during the 2023 U.S. banking crisis amid deposit runs and exposure to a rapidly falling crypto market.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took control of Signature Bank in March 2023, days after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, citing an overreliance on uninsured deposits, weak risk controls and a worsening run on deposits.
N3XT to forgo lending
Jeffrey Wallis, formerly Signature Bank’s director of digital asset and Web3 strategy, will serve as N3XT’s CEO and president and said crypto-driven innovations are central to the platform.
“Money should move as seamlessly as information,” he said. “We’re applying crypto innovations to banking to deliver instant, programmable payments for institutional clients.”
N3XT said it will not provide credit and that deposits will be backed one-to-one by cash or short-term U.S. Treasurys, with daily disclosures of reserve holdings. At launch, N3XT lists unnamed clients across crypto, foreign exchange, shipping and logistics, and other sectors.
Venture investors backing N3XT
The bank raised three financing rounds from a range of investors, including Winklevoss Capital, Paradigm and HACK VC.
Hack co-founder Alexander Pack said in an X post on Thursday that his firm is ready to support N3XT and its founders as they emerge from stealth mode.
“N3XT’s founders, Scott and Jeff, are forces of nature: they previously built Signature Bank, the biggest and best bank to support the US crypto industry in a regulated way, before the last administration forced them to shut down,” he said.
“Most founders would quit after something like that, but instead they immediately went back to work building N3XT,” Pack added.
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