Signature Bank old team returns: $72 million builds a "programmable" bank

[BlockBeats] The old team from Signature Bank is making big moves again—they just launched a new bank called N3XT, and their approach is pretty wild: they’re using a private blockchain as the foundation and focusing on “programmable dollars.”

This is no joke. N3XT has secured a Wyoming SPDI license and raised $72 million over three funding rounds, with big names like Paradigm, HACK VC, and Winklevoss Capital all on board. The core point is that it completely separates itself from traditional banks—no lending, no misappropriation of deposits. All funds are locked 1:1 in cash or short-term US treasuries, with daily public disclosure of reserves for maximum transparency.

On the tech side, it’s even more impressive: the private blockchain enables instant settlement, and businesses can use smart contracts to automate all kinds of transactions. In short, it’s turning bank accounts into programmable API interfaces, which is a game changer for companies needing high-frequency cross-border settlements.

The team is also rock solid. CEO Jeffrey Wallis previously led digital asset strategy at Signature Bank, and founder Scott Shay was a co-founder of Signature—he designed the Signet crypto payment system back in the day. Now this group is bringing their tech and experience to relaunch, targeting the segment of the market that traditional banks can’t or won’t serve.

The combination of full-reserve banking and blockchain is essentially redefining what it means to be a “safe bank.”