Ex-Signature Bank chair warns big banks could use blockchain to take market share from smaller rivals as N3XT goes global

Scott Shay, the founder of Signature Bank and creator of its Signet payments network, warned that large U.S. banks could use blockchain-based payment rails to gain market share at the expense of mid-sized and smaller banks as digital assets move further into mainstream finance.

"What’s actually happening in the bank world is that the big banks are realizing that there’s something in it for them," Shay told The Block's Kelvin Sparks at Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026. "And if they can embrace, and to some degree extinguish, some of the people in the crypto world, then there’s a market share for them."

Shay said mid-sized and smaller banks could be more exposed because many have been slower to adopt blockchain-based payment infrastructure. He previously served for four years as vice chairman of the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America and said he had pushed other mid-sized banks to adopt blockchain technology.

Shay said Signet, the blockchain-based payments network he created at Signature, was "transferring a trillion dollars on the system" by the end of 2022. Signature had expanded into crypto in 2018, and its 24/7 payments network became widely used by digital-asset companies.

Signature was seized by regulators in March 2023 after customers withdrew more than $10 billion in deposits on a Friday amid broader turmoil following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The bank had $110.36 billion of assets and $88.59 billion of deposits at the end of 2022.

N3XT's banking model

Shay has since returned to banking with N3XT, a Wyoming-chartered special purpose depository institution built as a full-reserve bank on blockchain technology.

N3XT allows businesses to make programmable payments in U.S. dollars around the clock. The bank says each dollar of deposits is backed one-to-one by cash or short-term U.S. Treasuries, and that it does not lend customer deposits.

Shay said N3XT's system allows account holders to send actual U.S. dollars to allow-listed or green-listed recipients and wallets rather than using stablecoins.

"Not a stablecoin, not a receipt for a dollar, not something that’s interoperable, but actual U.S. dollars," Shay said.

The development comes as stablecoins have grown in both supply and usage. Total stablecoin supply has risen above $290 billion, with Tether's USDT accounting for more than $183 billion and Circle's USDC at nearly $72 billion.

A global study conducted by BVNK with Coinbase and Artemis in February found that stablecoins are also being used beyond crypto trading. The study surveyed 4,658 adults and found that 54% of respondents had held stablecoins during the previous year, while 56% planned to acquire more.

Cross-border dollar payments

Shay said N3XT is targeting some of the same cross-border payment demand, but through dollar-denominated bank accounts rather than stablecoins.

He said demand for dollar access is particularly strong outside the U.S., where people in countries with weaker currencies use stablecoins as a substitute for traditional banking.

N3XT's initial clients span crypto, shipping and logistics, foreign exchange, and other sectors, according to the company's launch announcement. The bank operates on a private, permissioned blockchain that allows payments to settle immediately without relying on outside financial institutions to clear transactions.

Shipping and trade finance

Shay said shipping and logistics was already emerging as a significant application for Signet before Signature's collapse.

"By the end of 2022, we were massive in crypto. But half the tickets, and maybe under 10% of the volume, was actually starting to be shipping and logistics," Shay said.

He said freight forwarders were particularly interested because they wanted U.S. dollars rather than exposure to stablecoins.

Shay described trade finance as another potential application for N3XT, with payments and documents changing hands automatically after delivery, customs clearance, and quality checks are confirmed.

N3XT's launch materials similarly describe programmable payments for global trade, including transactions that automatically settle after goods are delivered. The bank said the model could reduce reliance on letters of credit and free up working capital.

Shay said the company's longer-term goal is to expand further into shipping and logistics after establishing its payment infrastructure.

"I think that’ll be our big gig after that," he said.