Ex-Bank Bigwigs Get Crafty with Blockchain: The Next Big Thing or Just Another Circus?

by

Well, well, well, what do we have here? A bunch of ex-Signature Bank honchos, those fine folks who watched their old bank get shuttered like a bad hotel, now decided to jump into the blockchain pond with both feet. Ain’t that a sight! 🤡

What to know, or what to pretend you understand:

  • These sharp-eyed entrepreneurs have launched N3XT-a bank powered by blockchain, built on a Wyoming SPDI charter-because nothing says confidence like a government-approved square peg in a digital round hole.
  • This bank promises to settle U.S. dollar payments instantly, using a private blockchain system that sounds more like a magician’s trick than banking.
  • And get this: instead of lending out deposits like their old bank did, every dollar is backed solid with cash or short-term U.S. Treasuries-because who needs risk, right? 🤔

So, a gang of former Signature Bank execs, the very folks who oversaw the crypto-friendly bank that everyone loved to forget, have come back swinging with N3XT-offering to make your dollar payments as quick as a blink and as programmable as a teenager’s social media posts.

This new fangled bank is under Wyoming’s watchful eye, settling payments faster than you can say “blockchain” and letting businesses automate their money moves with what they call smart contracts, which sound about as smart as a box of rocks to me.

Unlike traditional banks that lend your money out for a quick profit (and maybe a gamble), N3XT keeps every dollar backed at a one-to-one ratio by cash or treasuries-because, obviously, they’re afraid of another crash. And they tell you this daily, just in case you forgot how safe you are with a bunch of digital pixie dust.

Leading the charge is Jeffrey Wallis, a fellow who used to boss around digital assets at Signature, and Scott Shay, a co-founder whose claim to fame includes running their crypto payment platform-Signet-back in the good old days. 🧙‍♂️

These geniuses have attracted the attention of VC giants like Paradigm, HACK VC, and Winklevoss Capital-yes, the same twin Winklebrothers who once tried to turn Facebook into a cryptocurrency. They’ve parked a cool $72 million in this venture, in case you’re wondering whether to bet on this circus.

It’s a comeback story of sorts, after the Federal Deposit Insurance folks shut down Signature Bank in ’23, blaming their reliance on uninsured deposits and weak risk controls-because what could possibly go wrong? Their flagship, Signet, was a hit among crypto folks, and now they aim to reuse that magic trick.

“We’re applying crypto innovations to banking,” Jeffrey Wallis claims, like a wizard waving a wand, “to deliver instant, programmable payments for institutional clients.” And by “clients,” he means bankers who want to pretend they’re cutting edge while simply tying a fresh bow on last year’s paper.

Already, they’ve got clients from crypto, shipping, foreign exchange, and others lining up, eager to see if this new bank truly can do the impossible-like making money appear out of thin air, or at least out of their shiny new blockchain. And the best part? They’re just getting started.

Read More

2025-12-04 21:37