Ex-Signature Bank Execs Launch Blockchain-Powered Narrow Bank Backed by Paradigm, Winklevoss

A group of former executives of Signature Bank, the crypto-friendly bank shuttered in 2023 March, announced on Thursday the launch of a new blockchain-powered, full-reserve bank aiming to offer programmable U.S. dollar payments.

Dubbed N3XT, the bank operates under a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter, settles payments instantly using a private blockchain system and allows businesses to automate transactions via smart contracts.

Unlike traditional banks, N3XT does not lend out deposits. Instead, it's a so-called "narrow bank" where every dollar is backed one-to-one by cash or short-term U.S. Treasuries and is disclosed daily.

At the helm is CEO and president Jeffrey Wallis, who was the former Director of Digital Asset Strategy at Signature Bank. Scott Shay, Signature’s co-founder and the creator of its crypto payments platform Signet, also serves as N3XT’s founder.

The firm is backed by venture capital firms including Paradigm, HACK VC and Winklevoss Capital — the VC firm of crypto exchange Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss — among others. The firm has raised $72 million in three funding rounds, the latest being in October, according Crunchbase data.

The move comes more than two years after state regulators shuttered Signature Bank in March 2023, just days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. at the time cited Signature’s overreliance on uninsured deposits and weak risk controls as key reasons behind the closure. Signature Bank's key offering was Signet, a real-time payments platform that was popular with crypto businesses.

N3XT said it's aiming to offer a similar service of what Signet once provided. Its architecture is designed to be programmable and compliant, allowing businesses to automate money operations like supplier payments or collateral adjustments without needing to wait for traditional banking hours.

"We're applying crypto innovations to banking to deliver instant, programmable payments for institutional clients," Jeffrey Wallis said in a statement. "Our platform gives businesses the control and reliability they need in a 24/7 global economy."

The firm has already clients from industries such as crypto, shipping and logistics, foreign exchange with a "robust pipeline" of incoming customers, the bank said.