Texas-Based Monet Bank Shifts Focus to Become Crypto-Focused Lender
A Texas bank just rewired its core business model—and traditional finance might not like what comes next.
Monet Bank is ditching its old playbook. The institution is now positioning itself as a crypto-focused lender, a move that signals a deeper institutional shift than just adding a new product line. This isn't about dipping a toe in digital assets; it's a full-scale strategic pivot.
The New Blueprint: Banking on Blockchain
The transition means overhauling everything from risk assessment to customer onboarding. Instead of just evaluating FICO scores, the bank's framework now incorporates analysis of on-chain transaction history and digital asset collateral. It's building infrastructure to custody crypto, facilitate instant settlements, and offer loans against digital portfolios—services the legacy system either can't provide or does painfully slowly.
Why Texas? Why Now?
The move isn't random. Texas has emerged as a hub for both energy and tech innovation, with a regulatory environment increasingly seen as favorable toward crypto-native businesses. Monet Bank's pivot taps into that local momentum while addressing a massive, underserved market: businesses and individuals whose primary wealth is held in digital assets but who still need traditional banking services.
Ripples in the Pond
This creates a direct challenge to larger, slower-moving national banks. A crypto-focused lender can offer faster transactions, more innovative products, and tailored services for a Web3 clientele. It essentially bypasses the clunky correspondent banking network for certain functions—a classic case of a smaller, agile player cutting out the middlemen (who, let's be honest, in finance are usually just taking a fee for moving paperwork around).
The bottom line? One regional bank's strategy shift is a stark reminder that when legacy systems move too slowly, new players will simply build the rails around them. The future of lending might just be programmed on a blockchain.
Financial institutions shift their focus towards the crypto ecosystem
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance, Beal decided to explore the crypto ecosystem. This decision reflects a growing trend among financial institutions that are adopting and accepting cryptocurrencies in their operations.
The Texas lender began operating in 1988. At this time, it was operating as Beal Savings Bank. Earlier this year, it adopted a new name and started referring to itself as XD Bank. Two months later, it changed its name again to Monet Bank.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation monitors this state-chartered bank, with reports from federal records also indicating that the bank operates six branches.
Notably, Monet Bank is viewed as a very small community bank because it has less than $6 billion in assets and a little more than $1 billion in capital, according to state records. However, even with this challenge in place, the financial institution still pushed forward its goal of exploring the crypto industry.
The news on the Texas bank’s shift towards digital assets was made public on Friday, December 5, by the Information. Sources close to the matter noted that this decision places the bank among a growing number of banks that are seeking to serve the crypto market.
Meanwhile, as financial institutions express growing interest in the crypto space, reports dated October this year mentioned that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted Erebor Bank, a new tech-based company supported by Peter Thiel from Founders Fund, a conditional charter.
Moreover, former firm leaders from Signature Bank introduced a narrow bank with a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution charter known as N3XT earlier this week. They claimed that this new financial institution WOULD streamline the payment process using a private blockchain.
This change marks a broader shift in how federal bank regulators approach cryptocurrency.
Trump’s pro-crypto stance encourages exposure to the crypto world
Since Trump assumed the presidency of the United States, several bans related to the cryptocurrency sector have been lifted to support this rapidly growing industry. Some of these bans have been lifted, including previous warnings issued to banks regarding the exercise of caution with crypto.
The president’s administration has also established new guidelines to assist the crypto Industry gain improved access to banking services.
To further support the crypto ecosystem, Travis Hill, the acting chair of the FDIC, submitted a proposal notifying the relevant authorities that his agency intends to propose new regulations governing the crypto industry, specifically those related to the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act. The proposal was submitted during a hearing earlier this week.
In the meantime, when reporters reached out to Beal’s company to comment on their progress in exploring the crypto industry, a request was sent to a media contact at Beal Bank, but the firm declined to respond.
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