A team of former leaders from Signature Bank, the crypto-friendly institution that closed in March 2023, declared on Thursday the establishment of a new blockchain-based, full-reserve bank focused on providing programmable U.S. dollar payments.
Named N3XT, the bank is operating under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter, enabling instant payment settlements via a private blockchain and allowing businesses to streamline transactions with smart contracts.
In contrast to conventional banks, N3XT does not extend loans against deposits. It functions as a “narrow bank,” whereby every dollar is fully backed by either cash or short-term U.S. Treasuries, with daily disclosures.
Leading the bank is CEO and President Jeffrey Wallis, formerly the Director of Digital Asset Strategy at Signature Bank. Scott Shay, a co-founder of Signature and the creator of its cryptocurrency payment platform Signet, also plays the role of founder at N3XT.
The firm is supported by venture capital firms like Paradigm, HACK VC, and Winklevoss Capital—the VC firm established by Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss—among others. It has accrued $72 million across three funding rounds, with the most recent in October, according to Crunchbase data.
This initiative follows more than two years after state officials closed Signature Bank in March 2023, shortly following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. pointed to Signature’s excessive reliance on uninsured deposits and inadequate risk management as principal factors for the closure. Signature Bank’s key offering, Signet, was a popular real-time payments platform for cryptocurrency companies.
N3XT aims to replicate the services that Signet once provided. Its framework is designed to be programmable and compliant, facilitating the automation of financial operations such as supplier payments or collateral adjustments without adhering to conventional banking hours.
“We are integrating crypto innovations into banking to provide immediate, programmable payments for institutional clients,” stated Jeffrey Wallis. “Our platform equips businesses with the control and reliability essential in a 24/7 global economy.”
The company has already secured clients in sectors such as cryptocurrency, shipping and logistics, and foreign exchange, with a “strong pipeline” of prospective customers, according to the bank.
