Beal-owned Monet Bank pivots towards digital assets

• Key insight: A small community bank is repositioning as a digital-asset infrastructure provider.
• Expert quote: Nic Puckrin of Coin Bureau says digital assets shifting from fringe to a necessary innovation.
• Forward look: Expect competitors to follow in 2026 amid evolving stablecoin and bank regulation.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Monet Bank, a small Texas community bank owned by billionaire Andy Beal, is rebranding itself as an "infrastructure bank" for digital assets.

The bank, which has $5.57 billion in assets and about $1.2 billion in capital as of June 2025 according to state banking records, stated on its website that it is now "focused on being the premier digital asset financial institution."

Monet Bank's parent company, Beal Bank, did not respond to a request for comment on the timeline of the changes. The rebrand was first reported by The Information on Friday.

Monet Bank originally opened in 1988 as Beal Savings Banc, according to FDIC records. The bank's name changed several times over the last several decades, mostly with variations of the name Beal Bank, until March of this year when the lender's name was changed to XD Bank. Two months later, the name was changed again to Monet Bank.

Both Monet Bank and a sister company called Beal Bank USA are owned by a parent company currently known as Beal Financial Corporation, although the company's website as of publication time states that the name "will soon be changing." Beal Bank did not respond to a request for comment on the name change.

The owner of the banks, Andrew "Andy" Beal, is known in the banking industry as a high-level poker player and a major donor of Trump's successful 2016 presidential bid. 

Monet Bank's shift towards digital assets mirrors similar moves in the industry of banks warming to digital assets such as stablecoins and cryptocurrency. In October of this year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved a de novo charter for Erebor Bank, a startup bank backed by tech figures including Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey. Erebor Bank, named after a treasure-filled mountain in the Tolkien classic The Hobbit, is seeking to offer crypto and stablecoin products and services to its clients.

Nic Puckrin, investment analyst and co-founder of the Coin Bureau, told American Banker that Monet Bank's pivot into digital assets is an additional sign that the wider financial system in the US is getting more comfortable with cryptocurrency.

"Now that there is a regulatory framework in place for stablecoins and the digital asset industry is working more closely with traditional institutions, it's increasingly being seen less as a shadowy fringe sector and more as a necessary and useful technological innovation," he said.

Puckrin believes that digital assets are gaining ground due to recognition from "key institutional players" such as PNC Bank and JPMorganChase.

President Donald Trump also indicated an interest in cryptocurrency on the 2024 campaign trail, and since entering the Oval Office has signed an executive order to create a federal bitcoin reserve and has pushed for additional deregulation in the banking industry to accept digital assets.

Travis Hill, the acting chair of the FDIC, is also prioritizing creating rules for stablecoin issuance by banks under the stablecoin bill known as the GENIUS Act passed earlier this year.

"In this context, Monet Bank's move should be seen as a strategic positioning and we could see competitors follow suit in 2026, especially in crypto-friendly states like Texas," Puckrin said. "Seeing such a traditional, conservative regional lender turn to crypto really highlights the profound change of attitude toward this sector, driven to a large extent by the crypto-friendly stance of the Trump administration."