Tokenized 3X Bank Founder Building the Bank for Tokenized Finance
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Mar 26, 2026 Scott Shay, serial bank founder now building N3XT, designs a full-reserve, tokenized-deposit bank for real-time on/off ramps. He revisits Signet’s role in crypto payments and lessons from bank closures. He discusses interoperability between proprietary stablecoins, instant settlement versus instant debit, and N3XT’s safety-first architecture.
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How Early CBDC Fears Drove a Banker's Crypto Journey
- Scott Shay began exploring tokenized deposits in 2013 due to CBDC fears and the desire for a private-sector alternative to government-tracked transactions.
- He describes himself as the persistent founder who 'catches the bus and doesn't let go,' driving him to build tokenized banking solutions across multiple ventures.
Signet Launched Quietly Then Scaled To Trillion Dollar Volume
- Signature Bank launched Signet on January 1st as an independent tokenized deposit rail and initially saw slow adoption because it was like handing people an iPhone in 1972.
- Within a year Signet enabled enormous volume, with around a trillion dollars passing through by end of 2022.
Move Forward After Failure And Rebuild With Intention
- After Signature's March 2023 closure, Scott focused on forward-moving lessons and intentionally rebuilt a team to design a more robust bank rather than dwelling on the loss.
- He launched Next with co-founders in June 2023 to address vulnerabilities learned from that experience.